Department for Transport

East Anglia Railway Line

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of investing in rail infrastructure on the Great Eastern Main Line to increase capacity for rail service improvements; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Maynard: The Anglia Route Study, published by Network Rail in 2016, assessed the case for investments in the Great Eastern Main Line. We will consider investment options under a new process for rail enhancements, which we will set out early in the New Year. The new process will focus our rail investments on delivering outcomes for rail users, building on the Government’s recent commitment to make around £47.9bn available for rail investment over the period 2019-2024.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 114943, whether his Department has set a target for the proportion of resources manufactured in the UK that will be used to construct High Speed 2.

Paul Maynard: As referred to in the response to Question 114943, HS2 Ltd has made it a priority to engage with British firms through trade associations and business networks so that they are ready to compete for the opportunities offered by HS2 as part of an open, fair and transparent procurement process, which will deliver best value for money for the taxpayer. The current HS2 Tier 1 supply chain is comprised of 1,498 suppliers, of which 98 per cent are UK suppliers (based on postcode of registered address) and 69 per cent are small and medium size enterprise suppliers (based on turnover). A significant component in High Speed 2 construction will be that of steel. The Secretary of State has said that he expects to match the existing record of 95 per cent of steel in rail being UK steel.

Railways: Leigh

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 114759, on railways: Greater Manchester, whether as part of the range of issues discussed his Department discussed with Transport for the North and Transport for Greater Manchester transport connectivity in Leigh was specifically discussed.

Paul Maynard: The Secretary of State has regular meetings with Transport for the North and Transport for Greater Manchester, where a range of issues are discussed. We do not comment on the issues that are discussed at individual meetings.

Motor Vehicle Type Approval

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure the continuation of European Whole Vehicle Type Approval certificates for cars after the UK leaves the EU.

Jesse Norman: We want to agree an approach that minimises disruption and additional costs for the automotive industry and consumers in the UK and the EU as of the day of exit. A decision on whether to continue to apply EU whole vehicle type approval will depend on the outcome of the negotiations with the EU.Departments are working with DExEU to understand the impacts that withdrawal from the EU will have on businesses, consumers and other economic actors.

Motor Vehicles: Hydrogen

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase the take-up of hydrogen fuelled private vehicles.

Jesse Norman: Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are an important technology for decarbonising road transport and delivering the Government’s ambition that all new cars and vans should have zero tailpipe emissions by 2040. The Government has provided £5m to build or upgrade 12 hydrogen refuelling stations, and this initial network is nearly complete, alongside £2m to assist FCEV deployment in public and private sector fleets. Earlier this year the Government announced £23m of additional funding to increase the uptake of FCEVs alongside the expansion of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. The funding competition for the first phase of this programme recently closed and an announcement of the successful proposals will be made shortly.

Department for Transport: Brexit

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to the House of Lords European Union Committee on 31 October, how many civil servants his Department (a) has recruited and (b) expects to recruit to work on leaving the EU.

Mr John Hayes: Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. Staff within the Department for Transport’s International and Regulatory Directorate lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department for Transport also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Pedestrian Areas

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to support the pedestrianisation of more town and city centres to encourage walking and tackle poor air quality.

Jesse Norman: Local authorities are responsible for managing their road networks and have a wide range of tools available to enable them to do so. Pedestrianisation is one option already available for local authorities to consider, but it is for them to determine if it is appropriate at individual sites. On 26 July the Government launched “The UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations”. This document is the UK air quality plan for bringing nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution within statutory limits in the shortest possible time. The plan sets out a wide range of measures that local authorities can consider when developing schemes to address their air quality challenge. The Government’s aim is to make cycling and walking the natural choices for shorter journeys, or as part of a longer journey. To help achieve this, the Department published a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy in April 2017 which identified £1.2 billion of investment from 2016-21.

Roads: Rural Areas

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a), Northern Lincolnshire, (b) East Yorkshire and (c) other rural areas have suitable road infrastructure to encourage economic growth.

Jesse Norman: The Department and Highways England both recognise the importance of connecting rural areas to the rest of the country and invest in the strategic road network accordingly. Highways England’s strategic economic growth plan has identified the reliance of rural tourism and firms that deal with agricultural, raw materials or other large manufactured goods on its network. In Northern Lincolnshire, Highways England completed a £93million scheme to improve the A160/A180 Brocklesby interchange. In East Yorkshire, Highways England plans to improve the A63 Castle Street in Hull; a consultation on this scheme was undertaken in January 2017. Other roads in rural areas are the responsibility of local highway authorities. The Department announced in July that it would define a Major Road Network, improvements to which could be funded from the National Roads Fund. A public consultation on the details of the Major Road Network and how funds will be allocated is due to commence before the end of the year.

Railways: Standards

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the quality of local trains in Northern Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire.

Paul Maynard: As part of the competition for the next East Midlands rail franchise we have recently consulted passengers and stakeholders about their priorities for improvements to local rail services. We are currently considering their responses. These will inform what we ask bidders to deliver for the next franchise when we issue Invitations to Tender in April 2018. The Northern and TransPennine Express franchises will deliver more than 500 new carriages, room for 40,000 extra passengers and more than 2,000 extra services a week. By 2020 all the trains will be brand new or completely refurbished, and all the Pacer trains will be gone. The new intercity express trains will be introduced to the East Coast mainline from late 2018, replacing the InterCity 125 and 225 fleets.

Railways: Lancashire

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will re-open the Fleetwood to Poulton-le-Fylde rail line as part of the Government's strategic vision for rail.

Jesse Norman: The Government is working with local authorities and other partners to identify the best new rail projects that can unlock new housing and economic growth, ease overcrowding, meet future demand and offer good value for money.

Department for Transport: Brexit

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by his Department and (b) his Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Mr John Hayes: Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. Staff within the Department for Transport’s International and Regulatory Directorate lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department for Transport also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Buses: Tyres

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what research he plans to commission into the safety implications of tyres on buses and coaches being more than 10 years old.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what budget his Department has set aside for its proposed research into the safety implications of tyres on buses and coaches being more than 10 years old.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for the publication of the research he plans to commission into the safety implications of tyres on buses and coaches being more than 10 years old.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport is in the process of commissioning research to investigate how the properties of materials used in tyre construction change during a tyre’s life. The purpose of the research is to seek to understand what kind of relationship exists between the chronological age of a tyre and its structural integrity. The research will also consider other ageing effects such as those that occur due to tyre use and maintenance. We expect the preliminary findings of the research to be available in the autumn of 2018, and would hope to publish a report by the end of the year. The research will address the current interest in bus and coach tyres but, should it produce strong evidence of risk, the findings may well be relevant to other heavy vehicles and possibly to vans and passenger cars. The Department has made an appropriate budget available with which to undertake this research. The contract should be in place by the end of the year, and once it is finalised details will be listed on the Department for Transport’s website.

Network Rail

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what Network Rail’s total labour costs were for (a) maintenance delivered in-house and (b) works delivery in each of the last five years.

Paul Maynard: Network Rail's total labour costs for maintenance delivered in-house and works delivery in each of the last five years are set out below: £m, 17/18 pricesMaintenanceCapital Projects12/1368855313/1467855014/1566853615/1667161416/17702648

Network Rail

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent proposals he has received from Network Rail on (a) maintenance and (b) operational efficiencies.

Paul Maynard: The Secretary of State recently published his High Level Output Statement and Statement of Funds Available for railway activities during the period covering 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2024 (Control Period 6), in which he emphasised his clear expectation that Network Rail needs to make significant progress in improving its efficiency. As part of the independent Office of Rail and Road’s ongoing PR18 regulatory process, Network Rail is producing its Strategic Business Plans for Control Period 6 by February 2018, setting out what it proposes to deliver during CP6, what this will cost and the efficiencies it proposes to deliver. In addition to the Office of Rail and Road, which will scrutinise these plans, my Department will also receive them. I have also recently received Network Rail’s Transformation Plan Update, in September 2017, which sets out work now underway to increase efficiency in Network Rail.

Railways: Concessions

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason the proposed railcard for ages 26 to 30 years will be available only for off-peak travel.

Paul Maynard: This is an industry-led trial with the industry determining the terms and conditions on a commercial basis.

Railways: Concessions

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of the pilot scheme for the 26-30 rail card.

Paul Maynard: The 26-30 railcard is being trialed by the rail industry on a commercial basis. While we will work with the industry to understand the findings and to learn from the trial, the findings of the trial will therefore be commercially sensitive. Given the commercial nature of this particular industry-led trial, it is not anticipated that there will be any cost to the public purse arising from the trial.

Driving Tests

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions the management of DVSA management has had with the Public and Commercial Services union on that union's concerns relating to the new driving test.

Jesse Norman: DVSA management has engaged with representatives of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union throughout the development of the new driving test. DVSA management has considered all concerns raised by PCS.  The recent strike was not about the proposed changes to the test, but about a contract which PCS agreed, and which their members overwhelmingly supported in 2014. In adopting it, the members received a lump sum payment of up to £3,000 each.

Driving Tests

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many members of the Public and Commercial Services union working within DVSA have been subject to disciplinary hearings or investigations by management since 2015.

Jesse Norman: DVSA does not require staff to declare membership of a recognised trades union. It is not therefore possible to identify whether members of the Public and Commercial Services Union working at DVSA have or have not been subject to disciplinary hearings or investigations.

Driving Tests

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who carried out the risk assessment on the new driving test; and what the findings of that assessment were.

Jesse Norman: DVSA carried out a risk assessment of the new test in July 2017, and conducted further evaluations in September 2017. The report concluded that all elements of the driving test were low risk. DVSA also commissioned an independent report from Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to assess the risk of the changes to the test. This echoed the findings of the DVSA assessment that all aspects of the new elements of the driving test were low risk.

Roads: Wales

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on upgrades or improvements to the (a) A55 and (b) M4/A40 corridor to cope with potential delays to freight traffic a result of additional customs procedures in the event of the UK leaving the EU customs union.

Jesse Norman: The Department regularly engages with the Welsh Government to ensure a coordinated, joined up approach to investment in the strategic road network. The Department is in consultation with the ports and logistics industry, in order to help ensure that movement through ports and across borders is as frictionless as possible, whatever the outcome of negotiations on future arrangements for trade with the EU.

Home Office

Refugees

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to review the effectiveness of integration systems for refugees.

Brandon Lewis: We are working towards achieving more integrated communities and creating the conditions for everyone to live and work successfully alongside each other; and in the New Year the Government will publish an integration strategy.The Vulnerable Persons and Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Schemes are being evaluated through a programme of quantitative data work and qualitative research with refugees and key delivery partners. A key focus of this work is examining integration progress according to a range of key measures and what can be done to improve this.

Edward Snowden

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any journalists have been placed under surveillance under (a) Operation Curable (b) any other operation since the leak of classified documents by Edward Snowden in 2013; what the cost of Operation Curable has been to date; if he has made an assessment of the effect of Operation Curable on public interest journalism; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The use of surveillance powers in any police operation, and the associated costs, are operational matters for the relevant chief police officer.Comprehensive safeguards relating to the use of covert investigative powers against journalists have been included in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and the associated codes of practice, in recognition of the strong public interest in protecting a free press and freedom of expression in a democratic society.

Passports and Visas: Biometrics

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase the number of sites where applicants can submit biometric data for the purposes of (a) visa and (b) passport applications.

Brandon Lewis: Visa applicants are able to access an extensive network of biometric enrolment locations across the UK and globally. The number and location of these application points is regularly reviewed with our commercial partners to ensure that our service is responsive to changes in demand. The applicant’s facial biometric is captured for UK passport purposes from the image supplied with the application, and there are no restrictions on the site where the image can be taken providing that the resulting photograph is compliant. There are no other biometrics captured as part of a UK passport application.

Offenders: Foreign Nationals

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to deport non-UK offenders who were deported after committing offences in the UK who subsequently returned to the UK and committed further offences.

Brandon Lewis: A person is prohibited from entering the UK while a deportation order is in force. In the event that a person does so enter – by passing through or circumventing the immigration control - they will be deemed to have entered illegally. A deportee who enters the UK in breach of an extant deportation order will generally be removed by the immigration authorities as an illegal entrant. A non-European Economic Area (EEA) foreign national offender who returns to the UK and commits further offences which result in a custodial sentence of 12 months or more will be considered for deportation under the UK Borders Act 2007. Where a non-EEA national has a custodial sentence of less than 12 months, they will be considered for deportation on non-conducive grounds under the Immigration Act 1971. An EEA national with a criminal conviction will be considered for deportation against the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2016 on the grounds of public policy, public security or public health.

Refugees: France

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the Refugee Rights Data Project report Twelve Months On about the situation for displaced people in northern France; and what steps she is taking to fulfil her obligation to protect vulnerable child refugees.

Brandon Lewis: The Government has noted the recent report by the Refugee Rights Data Project. However, the primary responsibility for children in France lies with the French authorities. France has many of the same international obligations towards those on its territory as the UK, and the French Government has made clear its commitment to provide unaccompanied children with appropriate accommodation and support. It is vital that children who are in Calais claim asylum or otherwise seek support from the French authorities rather than risking their lives by attempting to enter the UK illegally. We welcome the opening of four new ‘Welcome Centres’ in France, which were opened over three months ago, in Haut de France (the region covering Calais, Coquelles and Dunkirk ports). Those assessed or declared to be a child, can be transferred to the Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking children centres in Northern France: St Omer and Boulogne. However, the asylum application needs to be physically lodged in Lille. There is regular transportation to UASC centre in Boulogne. We are fully committed to transferring the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children from Europe under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016. A number of children have arrived from France under section 67 in recent weeks and transfers are ongoing. More eligible children will be transferred from Europe under the scheme in due course. This is in addition to our commitments under the Dublin III Regulation which allows unaccompanied children who have claimed asylum in another Member State to be transferred here to have their asylum claim assessed if they have a qualifying family member legally present in the UK and transfer would be in their best interests. We continue to work closely with France, other EU Member States and partners to ensure the timely and efficient operation of the Dublin III Regulation, including through regular dialogue and meetings.

Fisheries: Scotland

David Duguid: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with representatives of the Scottish fishing industry on that industry’s immigration needs after the UK leaves the EU.

David Duguid: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with representatives of the Scottish food processing industry on that industry’s immigration needs after the ULK leaves the EU.

Brandon Lewis: After we leave the EU we will put in place an immigration system which works in the best interests of the whole of the UK. Crucial to the development of this new immigration system will be the views from a range of businesses, including those in agriculture and the food and drink industries.We have asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to assess the impact of immigration in the UK. We are carefully considering the options for the future immigration system and will set out our plans shortly.The Prime Minister has clearly set out the need for an implementation period after we leave the EU so that both the EU and the UK can prepare for the future arrangements, to avoid a cliff edge and ensure that businesses and individuals only have to plan for one major set of changes.

Veterinary Medicine: Migrant Workers

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 115507, if the Government will take steps to ensure that the non-UK EU veterinarians working in the UK who arrived in the UK fewer than five years ago will be allowed to remain and work after the UK has left the EU.

Brandon Lewis: The Government has proposed that those EU citizens who are resident in the UK before the specified date but do not have five years’ continuous residence will be able to obtain temporary status to remain resident in the UK until they have accumulated five years, after which they will be eligible to apply for settled status.There will be a two year period after the UK’s withdrawal for them to make an application during which their residence rights in the UK will be protected.

Ports: Wales

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what additional purchases of (a) land and (b) facilities her Department has made at each of the Welsh ports to establish additional customs facilities in the 12 months.

Brandon Lewis: Border Force does not lead on the purchase of land and / or facilities at ports to carry customs checks. It is the responsibility of Port Operators to provide suitable facilities as laid out in Customs legislation.

UK Border Force: Wales

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force staff are deployed in Wales by location; and how many of those staff are trained in customs operations.

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the recent additional Border Force officers she has recruited will be (a) deployed to Wales and (b) replacing vacant positions.

Brandon Lewis: This Government has ensured that sufficient resources are available to ensure the security of the border is not compromised. Security of the border cannot be measured by numbers of staff.Border Force uses a sophisticated combination of experienced officers, intelligence, data, technology and partnership working. Border Force resources in Wales are reviewed on a regular basis as part of the wider Border Force business planning process which is led by the Director General of Border Force.

Immigration: Children

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether children of parents with EU citizenship will be able to apply for settled status in their own right before they reach the age of 18.

Brandon Lewis: If a child under the age of 18 meets the requirements of the Withdrawal Agreement in their own right they can apply for settled status independently of their parents. However, we would expect most children under the age of 18 to apply as the family member of their EU citizen parent.

Police: Information

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which constabularies have stopped using using Police Information Notices.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish new guidelines from the College of Policing on the operation of Police Information Notices.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Police Information Notices have been issued by each constabulary in each year since 2012.

Mr Nick Hurd: Police Information Notices (PINs) are an operational tool used by some police forces in England and Wales. Their use is the responsibility of the police and the issuing of guidance about them is the responsibility of the College of Policing. Information on their use is not collected centrally. The issuance of Police Information Notices (PINs) is an operational matter for police forces. Responsibility for the publication of information relating to PINs rests with Chief Constables. Following this year’s joint inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Inspectorate which recommended the police cease use of PINs, we have been working with the National Policing Lead and the College of Policing on next steps on the use of PINs. The Home Secretary also chaired a National Oversight Group to ensure the inspection’s findings are acted upon.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Space Technology

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans further to develop commercial space exploration in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: The Government has an exciting ambition to take the UK into the commercial space age. We are actively supporting the development of a commercial market for small satellite launch and sub-orbital flight in the UK, by helping industry to develop new technologies, infrastructure and services. This will establish the UK as a world leading destination for space launch. We are putting in place new regulation, working internationally to secure agreements and evaluating proposals for grants that would help get the first missions from the UK off the ground. We are also an active player in international exploration programmes which help to support the development of commercial capabilities in the UK, such as the Goonhilly ground station.

Energy Intensive Industries: Renewables Obligation

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to paragraph 4.51 of the Red Book, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Government’s decision not to introduce new low-carbon electricity levies until 2025 on the implementation of the Renewables Obligation (Amendment) (Energy Intensive Industries) Order 2017.

Claire Perry: This Order does not introduce a new levy. It makes an amendment to the existing Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme, to exempt energy intensive industries (EIIs) from some of the costs of the RO, providing real-time support, with increased certainty, to industries with a vital role to play in the UK economy. Therefore, as no additional levy is being introduced the Government’s decision not to introduce new low-carbon electricity levies until 2025 has no bearing on the implementation of the Order.

Energy: Meters

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes will have been offered a smart meter by the end of 2017.

Richard Harrington: We do not hold this information. Energy suppliers have their own individual systems and criteria for recording offers for installations of a smart meter.

Energy: Meters

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the difference between the number of homes that will have been offered a smart meter by end of 2020 and the number of meters that will be installed by that date.

Richard Harrington: No estimate has been made. Suppliers are mandated by government to offer every household and small business in Great Britain a smart meter by 2020, and Ofgem are regulating them against this requirement.

Energy Intensive Industries

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the levy established to support energy intensive industries through the Electricity Supplier Obligations (Amended and Excluded Electricity) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 will count as a new levy under the terms of the Control for Low Carbon Levies.

Claire Perry: This is not a new levy. The exemption for eligible energy intensive industries from up to 85% of the Contract-for-Difference supplier obligation is not a low carbon electricity levy and therefore not under scope of the Control for Low Carbon Levies.

Nuclear Reactors: Investment

Mrs Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of levels in investment in the development of Small Modular Reactors in the next 12 months.

Richard Harrington: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 07 December 2017.The correct answer should have been:

The Techno-Economic Assessment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) includes estimates of the likely capital requirements of SMR vendors and developers. We expect to publish the Techno-Economic Assessment of SMRs shortly.On 7 December Government announced a package of nuclear measures, including up to £56 million for advanced nuclear technologies over the next 3 years. Full details of our announcement on next steps for the development of advanced technologies in the UK can be found at http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2017-12-07/HCWS322/

Richard Harrington: The Techno-Economic Assessment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) includes estimates of the likely capital requirements of SMR vendors and developers. We expect to publish the Techno-Economic Assessment of SMRs shortly.On 7 December Government announced a package of nuclear measures, including up to £56 million for advanced nuclear technologies over the next 3 years. Full details of our announcement on next steps for the development of advanced technologies in the UK can be found at http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2017-12-07/HCWS322/

Industry

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his announcement on the Industrial Strategy, what steps is he taking to ensure that the Strategy is delivered across the regions and nations of the UK.

Claire Perry: The government’s ambitious Industrial Strategy sets out a long term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK.We want to work with partners in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to develop local industrial strategies that build on the success of our on-going work to agree City and Growth Deals in each nation.We are supporting innovation across the United Kingdom. Our £725m second wave of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund complements innovation excellence held in Northern Ireland and across the whole of the United Kingdom, and our newly announced £115m Strength in Places fund seeks to support innovation that can drive local growth across the regions and nations of the UK.We will work with the devolved administrations to ensure that we can deliver on the promise of our key policies in the Industrial Strategy. We are focusing on how we address our Grand Challenges; deliver Sector Deals for businesses across the UK; maximise the impact of our respective agencies; and work jointly to deliver for places in each nation.

Business: Essex

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the value added to the UK economy by businesses based in Essex.

Claire Perry: The Office for National Statistics has published data on the gross value added (GVA) allocated to local authorities in the UK. There are fourteen authorities that map to the county of Essex. The GVA for each in 2015 is contained in the table below. The total amount for all fourteen authorities is £38.1bn.  Local Authority name£MillionSouthend-on-Sea3,132Thurrock3,270Braintree3,071Colchester3,958Tendring2,161Epping Forest3,126Harlow1,937Uttlesford2,404Brentwood2,240Chelmsford4,342Maldon1,212Basildon4,481Castle Point1,295Rochford1,423

EU Energy Policy

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it is the Government's policy to remain in the EU internal energy market after the UK leaves the EU.

Richard Harrington: The Government’s priority is to maintain affordable, clean and secure energy supplies for businesses and households. As part of this we share the EU’s ambition to make energy trading easier and more efficient by opening up national markets and increasing the level of interconnection between them.We want to continue arrangements which allow the efficient trade in electricity and gas, both on the island of Ireland and between the UK and continental Europe, and to continue to closely collaborate on current and future regulatory and technical arrangements.

Industry: Investment

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the level of private sector investment required to deliver on the objectives of the Industrial Strategy.

Claire Perry: The Industrial Strategy White Paper has set out a range of measures aimed at increasing investment from the private and public sector, which will both be vital in meeting the objective of increasing our productivity and earning power for people across the UK. This includes a commitment to increase total R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Religious Freedom

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will establish a funding stream for programmes to support freedom of religion or belief.

Mark Field: ​The protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is a priority of the Government's foreign policy. Projects that directly support FoRB are funded through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy. In 2017/18 the Magna Carta Fund will spend £758,717 on six Freedom of Religion or Belief projects. Bids to support FoRB work from the Magna c​arta Fund are currently being invited for financial year 2018/19.

Saudi Arabia: Overseas Aid

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what training and assistance his Department has provided to the Saudi-led Coalition's Joint Incident and Assessment Team in the financial year 2017/18.

Alistair Burt: ​The Foreign Office does not provide training or assistance to the Saudi-led Coalition's Joint Incident and Assessment Team.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the recent findings of the Saudi-led Coalition's Joint Incident Assessment Team into five bombing incidents, published on 19 November 2017.

Alistair Burt: ​The UK welcomes the release by the Saudi-led Coalition's Joint Incidents Assessment Team on 19 November of their findings in five further investigations into incidents involving alleged breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen. We regularly stress, including at senior levels, the importance of the Saudi-led Coalition conducting rigorous investigations into reports of violations of international humanitarian law.

Bahrain: Prisoners

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when officials of his Department last raised the cases of Mohamed Ramadan and Husain Moosa with the Government of Bahrain.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our Embassy in Bahrain continue to closely monitor the cases of Mohammed Ramadan and Husain Moosa and we have raised concerns about these cases both in public and in private at senior levels. We are aware that the Bahraini Special Investigations Unit is continuing with investigations into complaints of torture in these cases. We encourage a swift, transparent conclusion to the investigations.

Libya: Human Rights

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Libyan counterpart on reports of gross human rights abuses, human trafficking and slavery involving migrants in that country.

Alistair Burt: Tackling forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking is a domestic and foreign policy priority for the British Government. We share others' disgust and grave concern at the recent news footage, reportedly showing slave markets in Libya. We have raised our concerns about these reports with the Libyan Government, and welcome their commitment to immediately investigate this and to ensure those involved are brought to justice.We also support the announcement in Abidjan last week of a joint EU-AU-UN Task Force to address this dire situation, and efforts to sanction people smugglers at the UN. Our new £75m migration programme will also specifically target migrants travelling from West Africa via the Sahel to Libya, and get humanitarian support to those in desperate need. We are clear that a sustainable improvement in the human rights situation in Libya can only be achieved under the stability of a united and representative government, and continue to work with our international partners to support UN efforts towards this goal.

Palestinians: Foreign Relations

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the 21 November 2017 to Question 113243 on Palestinians: foreign relations, what his Department’s definition is for  viable and sovereign.

Alistair Burt: ​The British Government remains committed to supporting the establishment of a viable and sovereign Palestinian state. This means a territorially contiguous state which allows the Palestinians to realise their aspirations for self-determination and self-government. For a future Palestinian state to be viable and sovereign there must be security arrangements that ensure Palestinian freedom of movement, and demonstrate that occupation is over.

International Court of Justice: Public Appointments

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the implications are for his Department's policies of a British judge not sitting on the International Court of Justice.

Rory Stewart: The incumbent British judge, Sir Christopher Greenwood, remains a Member of the Court until the end of his current term of office in February 2018. His absence will be a great loss to the Court given Sir Christopher’s outstanding record of service to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and to the promotion of international law. His expertise and diligence are recognised by all who have worked with him or been taught by him in the UK and internationally.Notwithstanding the absence of a British judge on the Court after the end of Sir Christopher’s term, the UK will continue to support the work of the ICJ in line with our commitment to the importance of the rule of law in the UN system and in the international community more generally.As a founding member of the UN, a permanent member of the Security Council and the UN’s third largest donor, the UK will continue to shape and influence the global agenda for a safer, healthier, more prosperous world. ​

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Brexit

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to the House of Lords European Union Committee on 31 October, how many civil servants his Department (a) has recruited and (b) expects to recruit to work on leaving the EU.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) keeps its staff numbers under regular review in response to Ministerial priorities. Furthermore, the FCO works closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union and other Government Departments to prepare for EU Exit. Staff within the FCO's Europe Directorate lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. However, staff across the Department leading on other issues also provide advice and analysis as required. It is therefore not possible to give an accurate figure for the number of officials working on issues related to the UK leaving the EU, given the interactions between EU Exit work and the FCO's other priorities.

Serbia: EU Enlargement

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Serbia on that country's request to join the EU.

Sir Alan Duncan: I made clear during my meeting with the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Nebojsa Stefanovic, on 27 November that the UK will continue to support Serbia in meeting the necessary requirements for them to join the EU.

Cyprus: Politics and Government

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to assist in ongoing talks to bring a lasting peace between the Turkish and Greek communities in Cyprus.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK continues to support a just and lasting settlement to reunite Cyprus. We continue to work to that end, which we believe can benefit all Cypriots. I met the Turkish Cypriot chief negotiator Özdil Nami on 26 October and the Greek Cypriot chief negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis on 27 November. The Foreign Secretary also discussed Cyprus with Turkish Prime Minister Yildirim during his visit to the UK on 27 November. Although the Conference on Cyprus ultimately ended on 7 July without agreement, it made some significant progress towards addressing some of the outstanding issues. We are urging all parties to reflect on how they might build on that progress; keep channels of communication open; and refrain from words or actions that limit the prospects for resuming talks in the future.

Ukraine: Famine

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK Government has plans to mark the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Minister of State for the Middle East remembered the millions of Ukrainians who died during the closing speech of a debate in Westminster Hall on 7 November. The UK was also represented by the British Embassy in Kyiv's Chargé d'Affaires during the commemoration service held by President Poroshenko on 25 November.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Brexit

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by his Department and (b) his Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) keeps its staff numbers under regular review in response to Ministerial priorities. Furthermore, the FCO works closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union and other Government Departments to prepare for EU Exit. Staff within the FCO's Europe Directorate lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. However, staff across the Department leading on other issues also provide advice and analysis as required. It is therefore not possible to give an accurate figure for the number of officials working on issues related to the UK leaving the EU, given the interactions between EU Exit work and the FCO's other priorities.

Turkey: Freedom of Expression

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterpart in Turkey on repression of independent media and the right to free speech in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan: We have long encouraged Turkey to work towards the full protection of fundamental rights, particularly in the area of freedom of expression. The Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and I have all raised these issues with Turkish ministers in recent months. The Prime Minister did so most recently with her Turkish counterpart on 27 November. We will continue to engage the Turkish government on these issues and to urge respect for freedom of the media, which is essential to the long-term health of Turkish democracy.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Travel

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the transparency document entitled FCO ministers: travel - April to June 2017, which tickets relating to which journeys were (a) first, (b) business, (c) economy and (d) any other class; and what the cost of each such ticket was.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office publishes details of all ministerial travel on a quarterly basis in full accordance with the Cabinet Office requirements and processes.

China: Civil Liberties

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in China on freedom of religion and freedom of expression in Jiangxi province; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Field: The British Government has consistently expressed concerns about freedom of religion or belief, and freedom of expression, across China. These issues were raised with the Chinese authorities at the UK/China Human Rights Dialogue which took place in Beijing on 27 June 2017, and routinely in meetings with the Chinese Ambassador in London. We did not raise specific concerns about Jiangxi province.​​​​​

Chile: Foreign Relations

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met his Chilean counterpart in Chile; and what issues were discussed at that meeting.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign Secretary met Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz in New York in September 2016. I last met the Foreign Minister at EU-CELAC Foreign Ministers Summit in Santo Domingo in October 2016. We discussed a range of international issues on both occasions.

Sudan: Human Rights

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the Sudanese Government’s performance against the UN (Ruggie) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; and if he will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: The UK was the first country to implement the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights (the Ruggie Principles), by producing a National Action Plan on business and human rights in September 2013 (updated in May 2016). Through our National Action Plan, we are working with countries, including Sudan, to tackle human rights challenges.Human rights is a top priority for our engagement with the Government of Sudan. As part of this engagement, the UK will consider opportunities to promote trade with Sudan, as trade can help to open closed off political and economic systems. We continue to press the Government of Sudan to improve the human rights situation to create a more conducive business environment. We used the fourth round of the UK-Sudan Strategic Dialogue on 16 October to agree steps that the Government of Sudan would take to make further progress on human rights, and to raise our concerns on specific human rights issues. A communiqué outlining the progress made is now available on the British Government's website.

Nigeria: Religious Freedom

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to help support freedom of religion or belief in Central Nigeria.

Rory Stewart: This Government is firmly committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief around the world and to being a strong voice internationally in defence of this fundamental right. Religious freedom is protected by the Nigerian Constitution and we regularly discuss with the Nigerian Government, at the highest levels, our concern about threats to this right in Nigeria.

Nigeria: Religious Freedom

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he had received on threats to freedom of religion or belief in Central Nigeria arising from violence involving armed Fulani herders; and if he will make a statement.

Rory Stewart: We are concerned by reports of recurrent clashes involving pastoralists and local farmers over land, farming rights, grazing routes and access to water. These clashes, as a result of tensions which are exacerbated by climate change and population growth, have a devastating impact on lives and communities, as well as being a major barrier to Nigeria's economic development.We continue to call for calm and for all parties to find a peaceful solution to the complex underlying causes of these incidents.We welcome President Buhari's commitment to focus on assisting the affected communities, bringing perpetrators to justice and examining longer term peaceful solutions to the conflict.

Nigeria: Press Freedom

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the level of press freedom in Kaduna State, Nigeria.

Rory Stewart: We are aware of reports made about the Kaduna State Governor's efforts to restrict press freedom when it draws attention to violence in southern Kaduna. The UK position on human rights is firm: they are universal and must apply equally to all people. This includes the freedom of worship and the right to protest within the rule of law. We will continue to watch developments closely.

Nguyen Trung Ton

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Vietnam on the detention in July 2017 of pastor Nguyen Trung Ton.

Mark Field: ​I am aware of and concerned by the ongoing detention of pastor Nguyen Trung Ton in Vietnam. Officials from the British Embassy in Hanoi met members of his family in November to discuss his case. We have raised our wider concerns about increased restrictions on freedom of expression and the detention of human rights defenders in Vietnam most recently at the UN Human Rights Council in September; and we continue to call for the release of all prisoners of conscience. I shall be travelling to Vietnam in January to co-chair the next UK-Vietnam Strategic Dialogue, when I shall ​raise our concerns over this and other cases.

Nguyen Bac Truyen

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Vietnam on the arrest in July 2017 of human rights defender, Nguyen Bac Truyen.

Mark Field: ​I am aware of and concerned by the arrest of human rights defender Nguyen Bac Truyen in Vietnam. Officials from the British Embassy in Hanoi met members of his family in November to discuss his case. We have raised our wider concerns about increased restrictions on freedom of expression and the detention of human rights defenders in Vietnam most recently at the UN Human Rights Council in September; and we continue to call for the release of all prisoners of conscience. I shall be travelling to Vietnam in January to co-chair the next UK-Vietnam Strategic Dialogue, when I shall raise our concerns over this and other cases.

Belarus: Forced Labour

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has assessed the extent to which forced labour is used in Belarus.

Sir Alan Duncan: Belarus is a source, transit and destination country for individuals subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour. Our Embassy in Minsk has provided £100,000 of project funding to support the implementation of Council of Europe and UN recommendations on preventing human trafficking and gender inequality.

Yemen: Foreign Relations

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the UK Ambassador to Yemen has had with the officials of the former President Saleh of Yemen since the President's death on 4 December 2017.

Alistair Burt: ​The Ambassador has remained in contact with senior members of the General People's Congress (GPC). Discussion has focused on the breakdown of the alliance between the Houthis and the GPC. The Foreign Secretary has publicly called for restraint.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Department for Exiting the European Union: Brexit

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to the House of Lords European Union Committee on 31 October, how many civil servants his Department (a) has recruited and (b) expects to recruit to work on leaving the EU.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by his Department and (b) his Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Mr Steve Baker: All departments are equipping themselves with the resources they need to get the best deal for the UK. The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 600 staff based in the UK plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels. We regularly review headcount to ensure that we are appropriately staffed to deal with all aspects of the negotiations.The Department is responsible for overseeing EU exit negotiations, as well as establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU. As such, all staff in the Department are dedicated to planning or supporting our work on EU exit.

Attorney General

Crime: Victims

Priti Patel: To ask the Attorney General, what discussions he has had with the Crown Prosecution Service on applications to the Courts for compensation orders to support victims of crime.

Jeremy Wright: I have regular meetings with the Director of Public Prosecutions at which a variety of issues are discussed. The Attorney General’s guidance on the prosecutor's role in the sentencing exercise is supplemented by Crown Prosecution Service legal guidance which specifically requires prosecutors to draw the court’s attention to its powers to award compensation and to seek compensation orders where appropriate.

Cycling: Pedestrian Areas

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Attorney General,  how many successful prosecutions there have been of cyclists riding on pavements in the last 12 months.

Jeremy Wright: Section 72 of the Highways Act 1835 prohibits a number of specified activities on a highway including riding a pedal cycle on a footpath and Section 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 creates offences of careless or inconsiderate cycling, which may include riding on pavements. All such offences are initially prosecuted by the police. Only those cases where the offence is contested are referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Records held by the CPS identify the number of contested offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates’ courts, rather than the number of successful prosecutions.During the most recently available year the number of these offences was as follows:-2016-2017Highways Act 1835 s 7248Road Traffic Act 1988 and Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 s 2935Data Source: CPS Case Management Information SystemThere is no indication of the number of individual defendants prosecuted for these offences or the final outcome of the prosecution proceeding (including whether the prosecution was successful) or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at the time of finalisation.

Department for International Development

Robert Carr Civil Society Networks Fund

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to increase the UK contribution to the Robert Carr Network Fund for civil society.

Alistair Burt: The UK is proud to be a founding supporter of the Robert Carr Civil Society Networks Fund and has pledged up to £9million to support the grassroots response for inadequately served groups affected by HIV. We will look at future funding once this current commitment comes to an end.

Developing Countries: HIV Infection

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will publish her Department's policy on HIV/Aids.

Alistair Burt: The UK is a global leader in tackling HIV and proud to be the second largest international investor in the response.Through our investments we will continue to concentrate on reducing new infections while addressing the barriers that limit access to prevention, treatment, care and support. These include strengthening health systems and tackling the broader drivers of the epidemic such as stigma, discrimination and gender inequality. DFID have no immediate plans for publishing a stand-alone policy.

Department for International Development: Brexit

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent estimate she has made of the additional funding required by her Department over the next two years to prepare effectively for the UK leaving the EU.

Rory Stewart: As announced at Autumn Budget 2017, HMT is making £3 billion of additional funding available over the next two years - £1.5 billion in both 18/19 and 19/20 so that departments and the Devolved Administrations can continue to prepare effectively for Brexit. We are currently working with HMT and DExEU to establish what we need to prepare effectively, and what additional funding should be supplied. HM Treasury will aim to agree 2018/19 allocations in early 2018. Funding requirements for 19/20 will be affected by progress in negotiations with the EU and will therefore be decided at a later date. Additional funding received from the Reserve will be set out at Supplementary Estimates in the usual way.

International AIDS Conference

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether she plans to attend the International AIDS Conference in July 2018.

Alistair Burt: The UK Government will be represented at the International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam in July 2018. Precise attendance has still to be finalised.

Rohingya: Violence

Eleanor Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to respond to the particular needs of people affected by gender-based violence during the Rohingya crisis.

Alistair Burt: The UK is one of the largest donors to the Rohingya crisis, and is providing support for survivors and addressing the risk of gender-based violence (GBV). DFID is supporting the establishment of child friendly spaces and women and adolescent friendly spaces to provide protective services, and psychosocial and psychological support. Through UK funding to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UK support will reach over 10,000 women suffering from trauma, and over 2,000 survivors of sexual violence. This is part of a wider multi-agency effort. The UK is now planning to scale-up our GBV response.

Fairtrade Initiative

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans she has to increase awareness of the Fairtrade Mark.

Rory Stewart: The UK Government is a long-term partner of the Fairtrade movement, which plays a crucial role in helping producers around the world improve their lives. DFID is currently supporting the pilot of Fairtrace, a supply chain mapping programme run with Fairtrade’s supply chain assurance partner. This work will help Fairtrade continue to ensure that farmers receive fair prices for their products, that workers receive better wages, and that agricultural practices are more sustainable.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that humanitarian aid can reach civilians in (a) the besieged area of East Ghouta and (b) other besieged areas in Syria.

Alistair Burt: DFID has supported the UN and international NGOs since the start of the Syria conflict to deliver aid to hard-to-reach and besieged areas, including Eastern Ghouta. DFID’s humanitarian partners are on the ground in Eastern Ghouta providing life-saving healthcare, food, and protection, but humanitarian access remains severely constrained. We continue to use our position in the UN Security Council and the International Syria Support Group to press the regime and its backers to allow unfettered access so aid can reach those in desperate need, while maintaining the pressure for a political settlement to bring the suffering of the Syrian people to an end.

Syria: Internally Displaced People

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to support women who are internally displaced in Syria.

Alistair Burt: For internally displaced people to return home safely there must be an end to the conflict and a credible political settlement. This is the only viable path towards the peace and security that the Syrian people deserve. In the meantime, the UK is providing food, healthcare, water and other life-saving relief to internally displaced people – women, men and children – across the country. Since 2012, we have delivered 20.9 million food rations that feed a person for a month, 3.3 million vaccines against deadly diseases, and 8.1 million medical consultations for those in need in Syria.

Syria: Females

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment of the effect of providing support for gender equality in Syria on a) conflict resolution, and b) the role of women as carers in conflict situations.

Alistair Burt: The UK Government is committed to enabling women to have a voice within the UN-led peace process, and has encouraged the full participation of women in the Syrian opposition’s negotiating team. We recognise the essential and diverse roles that women and girls play within the conflict as carers, and heads of households. We design our programmes to take gender equality into account in line with the Gender Equality Act (2014).

UN Women

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions her Department has had with UN Women about the UK contribution to its core funding.

Rory Stewart: DFID officials have ongoing discussions with UN Women regarding UK core funding contributions, and additionally have an upcoming high level strategic dialogue in December with UN Women which will cover how core funding is spent by the agency.

Developing Countries: Females

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that water, sanitation and hygene services are integrated into its gender and women’s empowerment programmes and its strategic vision for women and girls.

Rory Stewart: DFID recognises that girls and women may be particularly disadvantaged when adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities are not available. That is why we promote through our policies and programmes a holistic approach which integrates WASH with other development services such as education and health. For example, our Girls’ Education Challenge programme includes activities to improve access to water and sanitation. As part of our upcoming renewed Strategic Vision for Gender Equality, we will intensify action to promote gender equality in water and sanitation programmes. This will help to ensure that girls’ and women’s rights to access water, sanitation and hygiene facilities are realised and that they benefit from security and privacy, for example to meet their menstrual hygiene needs.

Developing Countries: Pneumonia

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to help end childhood deaths from pneumonia by 2030.

Alistair Burt: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I provided on 5 December to Question number 116183.

Department for Education

Education: Finance

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether there is a formal mechanism by which educational organisations concerned about levels of funding can effectively communicate those concerns to the Department.

Nick Gibb: The Department maintains a formal process for individual institutions to share their school funding concerns. Academies are able to raise concerns with their regional Education and Skills Funding Agency contacts. Concerns about the finances of individual maintained schools should be raised with their maintaining local authority. If individual academies or maintained schools have concerns over the local distribution of the funding they should discuss this with their school forum. At a national level, officials convene regular meetings of the School and Academy Funding Group and its corresponding sub-groups, which have membership from a wide range of organisations representing schools and academies, local authorities, teachers and head teachers, to advise the Department on matters relating to all aspects of school and high needs funding.

Children: Food Poverty

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that children in receipt of free school meals do not go hungry over the Christmas period.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Free school meals are only provided to eligible pupils attending school during term time and schools are not required to provide food for children during the holidays. Some local councils may, however, decide to allocate some of their funding to programmes that help families who find it difficult to provide their children with healthy meals during the holidays. We are currently considering the School Holidays (Meals and Activities) Bill, which considers this issue, and will be responding in due course.

Private Education: Curriculum

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of schools which follow an Accelerated Christian Education curriculum.

Anne Milton: No exact estimate is possible. Registered independent schools in England belonging to the Christian Education Europe group (as shown on the group’s website) are known to use elements of the Accelerated Christian Education (ACE) curriculum - although which elements they use, and how, varies from school to school. However, other independent schools may also use elements of the ACE curriculum.

Private Education: Qualifications

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on requiring independent schools to offer qualifications that are recognised and accredited by Ofqual; and if she will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Independent schools must comply with the Independent School Standards Regulations. However, these do not require such schools to offer qualifications. The schools are free to offer any qualification, whether or not they are recognised and accredited by Ofqual. It is for parents to decide whether the provision offered by a particular independent school meets the needs of their children.

Private Education: Curriculum

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of independent schools that are teaching a faith-based curriculum.

Anne Milton: There is no estimate available for the number of independent schools that teach a faith-based curriculum. Although independent schools may declare a religious ethos, and some also have a designation as being a school of religious character, this does not necessarily mean that the curriculum used by the school is significantly affected by the faith in question. There are also some independent schools that offer a faith-based curriculum without having a declared faith ethos or a designation.

Primary Education: Admissions

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children born prematurely are not disadvantaged by delays to the start their education.

Nick Gibb: The statutory School Admissions Code requires schools to provide for the admission of all children, including those born prematurely, in the September following their fourth birthday. A child reaches compulsory school age on the prescribed day following their fifth birthday, or on their fifth birthday if it falls on a prescribed day. The prescribed days are 31 December, 31 March and 31 August. Parents can defer their child’s admission to school until they reach compulsory school age, or may arrange for them to attend part time until this point, but all children must receive suitable full time education from the point at which they reach compulsory school age.

Apprentices: Taxation

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to widen the Apprenticeship Levy to include money for wider skills traineeships and other forms of high-quality training.

Anne Milton: The apprenticeship levy is set at a level to fund the training and assessment costs of all new apprentices. We will continue to work with employers so that the levy works effectively and flexibly for industry and business. We will keep use of the levy under constant review.

Autism: Special Educational Needs

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November to Question 112473, how many of the 150,000 education staff trained via the Autism Education Trust (AET) are (a) teachers and (b) school support staff; and what plans she has to continue the work of the trust.

Mr Robert Goodwill: A breakdown of the number of education staff trained via the Autism Education Trust (AET) is not collected centrally.The department will shortly begin discussions with the AET to consider an extension to their current contract. The final decision over an extension will be subject to agreement of a work plan and detailed deliverables.

Autism: Pupil Exclusions

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2017 to Questions 110785, 110786 and 110787, how many children diagnosed with autism have received a permanent or fixed period exclusion in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The table attached provides the number of pupils with autism as their primary need who received fixed period and permanent exclusions.



Permanent and fixed period exclusions
(Word Document, 14.67 KB)

Special Educational Needs: Pupil Exclusions

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children with an (a) Education, Health and Care Plan and (b) Statement of Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) received a permanent or fixed-term exclusion in each local authority in the South West in each of the last five years.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The accompanying table provides information on permanent and fixed-period exclusions of pupils with Education, Health and Care plans and Statements of Special Educational Needs in each local authority in the South West in each of the last five years.



116467 Attachment 
(Excel SpreadSheet, 27.93 KB)

Department for Education: Legatum Institute

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what meetings Ministers of his Department have had with representatives of the Legatum Institute in the last 12 months.

Mr Robert Goodwill: No Department for Education ministers have had meetings with representatives of the Legatum Institute in the last 12 months.

Music: Education

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with music educators on the National Plan for Music Education; and whether that Plan should (a) include Early Years, (b) recognise informal pathways for young musicians and (c) continue with universal provision or be focussed on disadvantaged children.

Nick Gibb: The Department has regular meetings with music educators to discuss aspects of the National Plan for Music Education. Music teaching starts in the early years and the plan provides a template for high quality music education throughout a pupil’s education, both in and out of school, in both formal and informal settings. Our vision continues to be that children from all backgrounds and every part of England have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument; to make music with others; to learn to sing; and to have the opportunity to progress to the next level. We will continue to consider the best way of ensuring that disadvantaged children can benefit from all programmes we fund.

Department for Education: Brexit

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by her Department and (b) her Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to understand the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and to coordinate planning. A team within the International Education Division leads on providing advice to ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department for Education (DfE) provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues across a range of DfE policy areas as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the department’s other priorities, it is not possible to give an accurate figure specifically for work on EU exit.

Wakefield City Academies Trust

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons the Education and Skills Funding Agency did not issue a financial notice to improve to Wakefield City Academies Trust in 2016 following the finding of 16 breaches of academy finance rules.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In 2016, Wakefield City Academies Trust was subject to a follow-up routine financial management and assurance review. Where a concern is identified, the Education and Skills Funding Agency will respond proportionate to the severity of the risk, taking into account the scale and nature of the issue, and any local circumstances. A financial notice to improve was not considered a proportionate response to the recommendations made in that review.

Wakefield City Academies Trust

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 07 November to Question 111967, whether she plans to publish the ESFA report into Wakefield City Academies Trust following the successful transfer to new trusts of schools ran by Wakefield City Academies Trust.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Once all 21 academies currently part of the Wakefield City Academies Trust have been transferred to new trusts, we will publish the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s 2016 report. Our priority at this stage is to ensure that the education of the pupils in these schools is overseen by strong trusts.

Academies: Finance

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many separate breaches of the Academies Financial Handbook have been recorded by her Department in the last 12 months.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many separate breaches of the Academies Financial Handbook have been recorded  by her Department since that handbook was created.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Accountability is founded on a clear framework communicated and regulated by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), They ensure oversight and compliance based on proportionate risk assessments as well as robust intervention wherever needed. The primary responsibility for the oversight of trusts rests with the trustees themselves, supported by clear financial management and governance requirements set by the ESFA in the Academies Financial Handbook. Where concerns arise that an academy trust has breached the Academies Financial Handbook, the ESFA works with trusts to prevent financial instability and enable them to recover their financial position and return to stable governance. When the government does intervene, we publish financial notices and investigation reports that can viewed via: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/academies-investigation-reports and https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/academies-financial-notices-to-improve.Current evidence demonstrates strong financial management in the majority of academy trusts. Fewer than 2% of academy trusts are subject to an active Financial Notices to Improve.

Pre-school Education: Ashfield

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what percentage of children in Ashfield constituency who are (a) eligible and (b) not eligible for free school meals have achieved school readiness standards at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage in each year since 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Data prior to 2013 is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.Data has been provided for years 2013 to 2017 in the table attached.Following an independent review of the Early Years Foundation Stage, a revised profile was introduced in September 2012 with the first assessments taking place in summer 2013. The revised profile is very different to the previous profile which has led to a break in the time series as the results are not comparable. 



117016 attachment
(Word Document, 16.17 KB)

Student Loans Company

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to (a) increase the membership and (b) expand the diversity of the Board of the Student Loans Company.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 06 December 2017



The Board of the Student Loans Company (SLC) currently has three male and three female non-executive members. Following an open recruitment earlier this year, two further non-executive members, one male and one female, are shortly due to be appointed to the SLC Board. I will continue to monitor diversity on the SLC Board to ensure that it has an appropriate and diverse range of skills and backgrounds.

GCE A-Level: Knowsley

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure young people in Knowsley have access to academic A-level provision within the borough boundaries.

Nick Gibb: The hon. Member for Garston and Halewood met my Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education, on 25 October 2017. The Department remains committed to working with the local authority (LA) Executive Director (Children), to determine the demand for A level provision above and beyond existing accessible provision, and ensure that the needs of young people in the borough are being met. Knowsley Metropolitan Borough will benefit from some limited A level provision through the imminent merger of Knowsley Community College with St Helens College, where A levels will be taught at the Knowsley campus from September 2018. The Education and Skills Funding Agency is meeting the leadership of both colleges in December. The Department is also working closely with Knowsley LA’s Executive Director (Children), to ensure the implementation of ‘Knowsley Better Together’; the wider local LA led plan for improving access to A levels in Knowsley.

Apprentices: Taxation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether businesses can transfer their apprentice levy vouchers to smaller businesses in their supply chain.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the 10 percent annual value  that a company can transfer to another company from its apprenticeship service account is the total amount that can be transferred, or the total amount another company can receive.

Anne Milton: From April 2018, we plan to allow levy-paying employers to transfer up to 10% of the annual value of their funds to other employers, including to smaller employers in their supply chain through the apprenticeship service. The 10% refers to the maximum amount of funds a levy-paying employer can transfer. State aid rules apply to transferred funds which mean that the maximum amount that an organisation can receive is €2 million over 3 years.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 5 of her Department's early years national funding formula technical note of December 2016, whether her Department has allocated the £5m quality and expertise fund; and if her Department will make that allocation annually.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We will set out further details in due course. The funding is allocated in each year to 2019/20.

Institute for Apprenticeships: Public Appointments

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) appointment process and (b) selection criteria was for the (i) members and (ii) route panel chairs of the Institute for Apprenticeships.

Anne Milton: The Institute for Apprenticeships is independent of the department and determines its own processes. I have therefore asked the Institute to write to the hon. Member for Blackpool South directly regarding the appointment process and selection criteria for its route panel. A copy of that response will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses when it is available.

Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to ensure the planned sale of student loans with a face value of £3.7 billion represents value for money.

Joseph Johnson: The government only sells assets when it can secure value for money for taxpayers from doing so. The government is selling a first tranche of the pre-2012 English student loan book through a securitisation, which is designed to appeal to a wide range of investors.Throughout the sale process, the government has regularly assessed whether a sale would represent value for money for the taxpayer, using guidance issued by HM Treasury based on the Green Book. Further information on the sale arrangements will be presented in a report to Parliament pursuant to section 4 of the Sale of Student Loans Act 2008.

Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the resale value of the sale of the latest tranch of student loans.

Joseph Johnson: For a sale to represent value for money, the price offered by the market needs to be higher than what the government considers the loans to be worth. This value is calculated using HM Treasury’s Green Book discount rate for all investment and asset management decisions. Disclosing government’s retention value would prejudice future sales by allowing investors to establish the minimum acceptable price. Further information on the sale arrangements will be presented in a report to Parliament pursuant to section 4 of the Sale of Student Loans Act 2008.

Apprentices: Construction

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Building Services Engineering Technician apprenticeship scheme is due to commence; and if she will make a statement.

Anne Milton: A response has been provided to the hon. Member for Liverpool Riverside on this matter on 23 November. The unique identification number was 113589: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-11-16/113589/. The Institute for Apprenticeships is independent of the department and determines its own processes. The Institute wrote to the hon. Member for Liverpool Riverside directly on 28 November responding to the question regarding the commencement of the Building Services Engineering Technician. A copy of that response has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Foster Care: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of foster carers in the West Midlands.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The government committed to looking at the foster care system through the National Fostering Stocktake. This review will be published in the New Year and I have asked the independent reviewers to take a comprehensive look at the challenges and issues facing the foster care system in England. The review will look at the recruitment and retention of foster carers. We need to ensure that we have the right foster carers in the right places, and the review will explore how we can ensure foster carers have the support and skills they need to meet the needs of the children in their care.

Skerton Community High School

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the former Skerton High School site is used for educational purposes.

Nick Gibb: The Department has no information as to what the local council propose to do with this closed school site. Should the local council wish to use the site for non educational purposes there is legislation in place to protect against the disposal of school land used for education. The local council are required to seek the consent of the Secretary of State before disposing or changing the use of school land. Schedule 1 to the Academies Act 2010 requires consent where any school land has been used by a maintained school within the last eight years and Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 requires consent to be obtained for school playing field land used by (or for) a maintained school within the last 10 years. We have not received any application from Lancashire County Council seeking consent to dispose of the former Skerton High School site. Further information about the protection of school land can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-land-and-property-protection-transfer-and-disposal.

Faith Schools: Admissions

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to (a) amend or (b) remove the 50 per cent faith-based cap on admissions to Catholic schools.

Anne Milton: The ‘Schools that work for everyone’ consultation document recognised that some faiths, including the Catholic Church, have felt unable to open new free schools subject to the 50% cap because they say it contravenes religious rules.The department plans to respond on this in due course. We greatly value the important role Catholic schools play in our education system and that will continue.

Service Pupil Premium

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much was spent from the public purse on the Service Pupil Premium in each year from 2011 to 2017.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The table below shows the total Service Pupil Premium funding allocated to schools by the Department for Education in each financial year from 2011 to 2017.Financial yearTotal Service Pupil Premium funding allocated to schoolsNumber of eligible pupils2011-12 [1]£9,014,00045,0702012-13 [2]£13,093,00052,3702013-14 [3]£17,381,00057,9402014-15 [4]£19,317,00064,3902015-16 [5]£20,668,70068,8962016-17 [6]£22,040,77573,4692017-18 [7]£22,580,40075,268It should be noted that the rate of funding increased from £200 per pupil in 2011-12 to £250 per pupil in 2012-13; and then to £300 per pupil in 2013-14 and all subsequent years.Eligibility for the Service Pupil Premium has also been extended since the funding was introduced. In 2011-12, only those pupils who were identified in the January 2011 school census as currently being Service children attracted the funding. In subsequent years, pupils have also been eligible for the Service Premium if they were recorded as Service children in any school census since January 2011 but no longer have this status (e.g. because their parent has left the armed forces); or if they are in receipt of a pension under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or the War Pensions Scheme.  [1]http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120109202126/https://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/settlement2012pupilpremium/a0075963/pupil-premium-2011-12[2]http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140107120523/https://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/a00200465/schools-funding-settlement-2012-13[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2013-to-2014-final-allocation-tables[4] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2014-to-2015-final-allocations[5] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2015-to-2016-allocations[6] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2016-to-2017[7] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2017-to-2018

Service Pupil Premium

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools are in receipt of the Service Pupil Premium; and how much each such school receives.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In the financial year 2017-18 there are 10,742 schools which are in receipt of Service Pupil Premium funding – totalling £22,515,000.The Department for Education does not publish details of Service Pupil Premium allocations to individual schools, as doing so would risk making those pupils who are eligible for the funding individually identifiable.

Children: Disadvantaged

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide a breakdown of the £5 million budget allocated to the trial of home learning interventions in the north of England by (a) location and (b) type of intervention.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In October this year, we announced that we will use £5 million to trial evidence-based home learning environment support programmes in the north of England, focusing on early language and literacy. Further details of the process for selecting trial areas and interventions will be available shortly.

Further Education

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to devolve post-16 skills policy to Mayoral Combined Authorities.

Anne Milton: The department is planning to devolve the Adult Education Budget to the Mayoral Combined Authorities in 2019/20, subject to agreement over readiness conditions. This will allow these authorities flexibility to shape adult education provision in order to meet local economic needs. We are establishing Skills Advisory Panels, in partnership with Mayoral Combined Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships, to help identify the skills needs and employer demands at a local level. The department have no further plans to devolve post-16 skills policy to Mayoral Combined Authorities.

Schools: Standards

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the (a) educational attainment of, (b) financial performance of and (c) special educational needs support provided by education providers and multi-academy trusts.

Nick Gibb: The Department has a robust, transparent accountability system in place for education providers which monitors the attainment, progress and destinations of those they teach, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This system is based on performance data published through school and college performance tables and the inspection of schools and colleges through Ofsted. Ofsted inspections include consideration of how well schools and colleges meets the needs of pupils with SEND.Multi-Academy Trust performance measures were published alongside school performance tables for the first time in 2016. Where schools and colleges are underperforming the Secretary of State has intervention powers set out in legislation and published in the Schools Causing Concern Guidance. Academies also operate under a robust system of financial oversight and accountability, founded on a clear framework, effective oversight and compliance based on proportionate risk assessment and intervention where required. Where concerns arise, the Education and Skills Funding Agency works with trusts to prevent financial instability and enable them to recover their financial position and return to stable governance. The sector remains in a strong position, with fewer than 2% of academy trusts subject to an active Financial Notice to Improve.

Pupil Exclusions

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has issued to regulate the exclusion from school of  pupils with (a) special educational needs and (b) disabilities.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department publishes statutory guidance for head teachers and governors on exclusion: ‘Exclusion from maintained schools, Academies and pupil referral units in England’. The guidance covers the process from start to finish, and includes specific requirements in relation to pupils with special educational needs and disability (SEND). In particular, the guidance sets out that, head teachers and governing bodies should make additional efforts to consider what extra support may be required to avoid exclusion of pupils with SEND, and as far as possible, should avoid permanently excluding pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan or Statement.

Schools: Finance

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authorities have requested permission to disapply guidelines on the ring-fenced dedicated schools grant for the financial year 2018-19; and what is the disapplication each wishes to make.

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authorities (a) submitted a request to disapply regulations (b) had a request to disapply regulations granted and (c) disapplied regulations relating to the ring-fenced dedicated schools grant in each of the last three financial years.

Nick Gibb: We are still in the process of collating and categorising requests from local authorities for disapplication from the school finance regulations for the 2018-19 financial year. The information requested by the Rt hon. member for Kingston and Surbiton will not be available until approximately mid-December.

Pre-school Education

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2017 to Question 116575 on Pre-school Education: Recruitment, if he will publish the membership of the task and finish group.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The gender diversity task and finish group includes practitioners, training providers, unions, academics and employers. As set out in the Early Years Workforce Strategy, the group will report to the department on the factors influencing the number of men in childcare and present possible solutions to increase this number.

Child Minding: Grandparents

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the reasons are for grandparents who are childminders to be ineligible to receive 30-funded hours of childcare for their grandchildren.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Childminders, including grandparents who are childminders, cannot receive early years funding, including the new 30 hours’ entitlement, for related children. This is set out in Sections 18(4) and 20 of the Childcare Act 2006: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/21/contents.This long-standing position avoids creating an incentive for adults to register to become formal carers for related children they are already looking after on an informal basis.

Construction: Training

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 119 of the Government's Industrial Strategy, if she will publish the programmes to be funded through the £34 million investment in innovative construction training programmes in the (a) Liverpool City Region and (b) UK.

Anne Milton: The funding for construction skills was announced in the Budget, as part of the National Retraining Scheme. Most of the funding will be a construction skills fund for England, which will support the government’s ambition to build many more new homes during this parliament. The department will publish criteria for the fund early next year. The fund will help to build construction training facilities attached to housing developments, and will support adult students to retrain as construction workers. We will welcome bids from colleges and developers from across the country. There will also be £5 million for construction skills in the West Midlands, as part of the second devolution deal.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Civil Disorder

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions Tornado teams have been deployed to prisons since September 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Between September 2010 and November 2017 Tornado teams have been deployed a total of 97 times to provide incident management support to custodial establishments in England and Wales. Tornado teams are not necessarily launched in response to violent incidents. They can be called on to provide a visible presence when dealing with a large number of prisoners.

Community Rehabilitation Companies: Gloucestershire

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to ensure that the issues relating to staff overwork identified in the Probation Inspectors Report on Gloucestershire (a) in general and (b) relating to the Community Rehabilitation Company Working Links are rectified.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Public protection is our top priority and we will take all necessary action to make sure the probation system is reducing reoffending and preventing future victims. We take the findings of the Inspectorate very seriously, and both the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) put in place action plans to address the issues raised. There is a contractual mechanism for managing recommendations made in HM Inspectorate of Probation reports about CRCs. Our Contract Management Teams give high priority to ensuring that the CRC’s action plan is implemented by the provider, and ensure that those actions are successful in addressing the points raised. Contracts with CRCs require each CRC to ensure that it employs a sufficient level of staff, and that its workforce is competent and adequately trained. We closely monitor and robustly manage providers to make sure they fulfil their contractual commitments to reduce reoffending, protect the public and provide value for money to the taxpayer.

Ministry of Justice: Legatum Institute

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what meetings that Ministers of his Department have had with representatives of the Legatum Institute in the last 12 months.

Mr Sam Gyimah: There has been one meeting between current Ministers of the Ministry of Justice and representatives of the Legatum Institute in the past 12 months. I attended a dinner on prison reform on 31 October 2017. The event took place at the Legatum Institute but was hosted and organised by Catch22, a not-for-profit business. Danny Kruger, a Senior Fellow at the Legatum Institute, attended this meeting.

War Crimes

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people convicted of war crimes are detained in the UK; and how many people have been so detained in the last 10 years?

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convicted criminals have been imprisoned in the UK after trial by the International Criminal Tribunal for crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The United Kingdom has sentence enforcement agreements with a number of international courts and tribunals. Under these arrangements the UK is currently holding one person convicted of war crimes by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Previously three prisoners convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have served all or part of their sentence in the United Kingdom in the last 10 years. A further prisoner convicted by ICTY was held here prior to this period. These four prisoners are no longer detained in the UK.

Probation: Training

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the joint HM Inspectorate of Probation and the Care Quality Commission report entitled New Psychoactive Substances: the response by probation and substance misuse services in the community in England, published in November 2017, what assessment he has made of the level of specific training on new psychoactive substances provided to community probation staff in England.

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the joint HM Inspectorate of Probation and the Care Quality Commission report entitled New Psychoactive Substances: the response by probation and substance misuse services in the community in England, published in November 2017, whether his Department has plans to produce guidance for probation services on working in the community with offenders who use new psychoactive substances.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We are grateful to H M Inspectorate and the Care Quality Commission for their report. We are working with partner agencies across the criminal justice system, as well as the Department of Health, to address the problem of new psychoactive substances and ensure that probation staff have the information they need to help offenders tackle substance misuse problems. The National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies are drawing up action plans in response to the recommendations in the report that are addressed to them, including in relation to training.

Aircraft

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department consulted the Amy Johnson Arts Trust before the decision was made on the permanent location of the replica of Amy Johnson's plane.

Mr Sam Gyimah: HMP Hull will contact the Amy Johnson Arts Trust as part of the work that is underway to secure a permanent location for the full-scale replica of Amy Johnson’s Gipsy Moth.A decision has not been reached on a permanent location since receiving notification the model had to move by February 2018.HMP Hull continue to work with any interested parties to agree the most appropriate location for the model.

Church Commissioners

Pupils: Bullying

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment has been made of the merits of the Church of England's recent guidance to nursery and primary school teachers on transphobic bullying.

Dame Caroline Spelman: The Church of England Education Office issued an updated version of their Valuing All God’s Children guidance in November 2017. This guidance is designed to support primary and secondary schools in addressing homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying. The new guidance reflects the latest equalities legislation, enabling schools to be inclusive environments where all pupils are treated with dignity and respect in line with the Church of England’s Vision for Education.The guidance has been distributed to every Church of England primary and secondary school along with every Diocesan Director of Education. This guidance has been welcomed by the schools and Directors of Education. Training to accompany the guidance will be rolled out to dioceses and schools from February next year.

Ministry of Defence

USA: Counter-terrorism

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2017 to Question 107136, whether briefings given to UK military personnel in support of US counter-terror actions outside of war zones are given in writing.

Mark Lancaster: UK military personnel receive a variety of briefings prior to any deployment, including those in support of another nations' operations. The style and content of their pre-deployment briefings are shaped by the operation itself. These briefings, along with training in the Law of Armed Conflict throughout their careers and, if required, access to UK legal and policy advice during their deployment, ensure that they remain within UK and International Law and any policy restrictions which may apply.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether has had discussions with the US Defence Secretary on allegations of civilian deaths during US raids in the Yemeni villages of Yakla and Al Jubah in January and May 2017.

Gavin Williamson: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Law of War

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions the Government has authorised the use of lethal force in a non-military context under the legal basis of self-defence since August 2015.

Mark Lancaster: None.

Marines: Deployment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel from (a) 42 Commando (b) 40 Commando (c) 45 Commando Royal Marines have been deployed overseas in the last two years.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions personnel from (a) 42 Commando (b) 40 Commando (c) 45 Commando Royal Marines have been deployed overseas in the last two years.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions personnel from 3 Commando Brigade have been deployed on humanitarian aid and disaster relief-related operations in the last two years.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Marines personnel were deployed in the (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14, (iii) 2014-15, (iv) 2015-16 and (v) 2016-17 financial years.

Mark Lancaster: The Naval Service deploys away from the United Kingdom throughout the year, to areas such as the Gulf region, the Mediterranean, and the North and South Atlantic in support of UK operations. In addition, operations are also conducted in the UK and home waters. Over the last two years, personnel from 3 Commando Brigade deployed three times on humanitarian aid and disaster relief related operations overseas. The table below shows the number of personnel from 42 Commando, 40 Commando, and 45 Commando Royal Marines who have been deployed overseas in the last two years. Financial Year2015-162016-1740 Commando842042 Commando7845 Commando53121 Deployment refers to Military personnel who are deployed on operations for a period of 24 hours or more, excluding all personnel on overseas training excercises and those whose permanent stationed location is outside the UK. Notes:1. Includes only personnel who have been deployed outside of Great Britain.2. Each individual is counted once per financial year even though they may have been deployed multiple times during that period. The table below shows the number of occasions personnel from 42 Commando, 40 Commando, and 45 Commando Royal Marines have been deployed overseas in the last two years. Financial Year2015-162016-17Number of occasions1311 The table below shows the number of Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel who were deployed in the years requested. Financial Year2012-132013-142014-152015-162016-17Royal Navy4,6595,5214,3474,6353,998Royal Marines1,5351,6401,4308691,040Notes:1. The figures do not include Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel conducting operations in home waters.2. Each individual is counted once per financial year even though they may have been deployed multiple times during that period.

Armed Forces: Cadets

Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to announce (a) the establishment of the proposed Cadet Forces Commission and (b) the proposed transfer of volunteer officers attached to the Combined Cadet Force (RAF) and Air Training Corps to a Cadet Forces Commission.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Information about the introduction of the new Cadet Forces Commission has been promulgated through single Service communication channels. All Cadet Force Adult Volunteer Officers have been informed of the new Commission.The Royal Warrant for the Cadet Forces Commission was approved by Her Majesty The Queen in October 2017 to come into force on 1 November 2017. This enabled the single Services to approve new regulations and delegate the necessary authority to allow the new Commission to be awarded across all cadet forces from 1 December 2017.From this date all newly commissioned officers in the cadet forces will be appointed to the new Commission, as will existing officers, including those in the Combined Cadet Force (RAF) and Air Training Corps.

Ukraine: Military Aid

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse has been of non-lethal equipment supplied by the Government to Ukrainian armed forces in the last two years.

Gavin Williamson: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ukraine: Military Aid

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to supply lethal aid to the Ukrainian armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The UK provides considerable support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF), chiefly through our military training mission, Operation ORBITAL, which delivers defensive, non-escalatory advice and training in response to requirements identified by the UAF themselves. We also actively support Ukraine's defence reform agenda through the employment of a dedicated Special Defence Adviser embedded in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence as well as a broad programme of defence education and other engagement. The UK has provided non-lethal equipment to the UAF, such as winter clothing and tents, ruggedized laptops and first aid kits. Our policy, to date, has been to not provide lethal equipment to the UAF, whilst reserving the right to keep this policy under review.

Defence Equipment: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which projects forming part of his Department’s core equipment plan were subject to virement at the close of Annual Budget Cycle 16; and what the value was of those transferred budgets.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which projects forming part of his Department’s core equipment plan and subject to virement at the close of Annual Budget Cycle 16 had costs transferred to another core equipment plan project; and what the value was of those transferred budgets.

Harriett Baldwin: The Annual Budget Cycle does not feature any formal process of virement whereby financial provision allocated to a particular equipment project is transferred specifically to another. Balance of investment decisions taken as part of the Annual Budget Cycle instead seek to ensure that the equipment plan as a whole remains affordable and relevant to our evolving defence and security priorities.

Defence: Finance

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of the budget within (a) Navy Command, (b) Army Command, (c) Air Command, (d) Joint Forces Command, (e) DG Nuclear, (f) Defence Infrastructure Organisation, (g) Head Office and (h) Corporate Services have been subject to virement in the last financial year; and what the value was of those transferred budgets.

Gavin Williamson: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Army: Recruitment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the shortfall was for the recruitment of reserve and regular soldiers and officers in (a) Infantry, (b) Royal Artillery, (c) Royal Corps of Signals, (d) Army Medical Services, (e) Adjutant General's Corps, (f) Royal Armoured Corps, (g) Army Air Corps, (h) Royal Engineers, (i) Royal Logistics Corps, (j) Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and (k) Intelligence Corps in the last 12 months.

Mark Lancaster: The following table shows the number of regular soldiers recruited into the Army by Regiment or Corp for the 12 months from 1 October 2016 to 1 October 2017 against the target for that period. Targets are internal and subject to constant change and review. The Army has enough people to fulfil its current commitments. Other RanksTarget into Untrained Strength*Actual (intake)Household Cavalry / Royal Armoured Corps540390Royal Artillery640490Royal Engineers690690Royal Corps of Signals570330Army Air Corps13080Royal Logistics Corps1,100950Royal Army Medical Corps220280Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers680690Adjutant General’s Corps370250Intelligence Corps13080Infantry2,9001,830  Notes: Targets are internally set by the Army Recruitment and Training Division (ARTD) and are subject to constant change and review. Figures are for Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service and Mobilised Reserves. Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes. * Intake to untrained strength is those who directly commence Phase 1 & Phase 2 training. The targets and actuals have been calculated by taking 6/12 of the Financial Year 2017-18 target and 6/12 of the Financial Year 2016-17 target and are therefore indicative only.Actual Intake Figures have been provided by Defence Statistics (Army). Officer recruits are recruited into Royal Military Academy Sandhurst without being allocated a Regiment or Corps. For the period 1 October 2016 to 1 October 2017, 620 Officer recruits were recruited into Untrained Strength against a target of 634. Reserve For the recruitment of Army Reserves there is only an annual overall requirement for new entrant enlistment. The table below shows enlistment figures for the 12 months from 1 October 2016 to 1 October 2017 against the target for that period. Since April 2016 Direct Entrant Officer to the Army Reserve are required to enlist as Other Ranks first. Army Reserve new entrant enlistment TargetActual*Other Ranks (Including Direct Entry Officers)3,2402,750Professionally Qualified Officers17050Notes: Figures are for the FR20 population, which consists of Group A Army Reserves, some Sponsored Reserves and those personnel serving on FTRS contracts who were previously Army Reservists. * These figures do not include trained direct entrants to the Army Reserve. Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes. Requirements for this period is pro rata of the annual FY 2016-17 and FY 2017-18 requirements and are indicative only.

Army: Deployment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many regular and reserve conventional UK Army personnel from (a) Infantry, (b) Royal Artillery, (c) Royal Corps of Signals, (d) Army Medical Services, (e) Adjutant General's Corps, (f) Royal Armoured Corps, (g) Army Air Corps, (h) Royal Engineers, (i) Royal Logistics Corps, (j) Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and (k) Intelligence Corps were deployed in each of the (i) 2012-13 (ii) 2013-14 (iii) 2014-15 (iv) 2015-16 and (v) 2016-17 financial years.

Mark Lancaster: The table below shows the number of Regular and Reserve Personnel, officer and other ranks, deployed in each of the last five years by the Corps/Arm’s requested. Deployments of personnel by Corps/Arms and Financial Year1  2012-132013-142014-152015-162016-17Infantry13,4658,0735,6623,4843,400Royal Regiment of Artillery3,5082,0951,062309282Royal Corps of Signals3,2562,2861,449642640Royal Army Medical Corps1,288897724340337Adjutant General's Corps12487622139Royal Armoured Corps2,2591,345764177169Army Air Corps6864742254924Corps of Royal Engineers3,9632,2271,3987141,112The Royal Logistic Corps5,7883,6322,405782805Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers3,5002,4531,241419400Intelligence Corps829698464282339 Deployment refers to Military personnel who are deployed on operations for a period of 24 hours or more, excluding all personnel on overseas training excercises and those whose permanent stationed location is outside the UK.Note:1. Out of Theatre personnel (personnel away from their stationed location, but not ‘deployed') have been excluded.2. Some personnel will have been deployed on multiple occasions but only appear in the table once.

Air Force: Deployment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF personnel were deployed overseas in the (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14, (c) 2014-15, (d) 2015-16 and (e) 2016-17 financial years.

Mark Lancaster: The number of RAF personnel deployed overseas in each financial year (FY) since 2012-13 is: Financial Year2012-132013-142014-152015-162016-1712,34912,48110,6518,2058,832 Deployment refers to Military personnel who are deployed on operations for a period of 24 hours or more, excluding all personnel on overseas training exercises and those whose permanent stationed location is outside the UK.

Reserve Forces: Payments

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces reservists were paid a bounty in the (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14, (c) 2014-15, (d) 2015-16 and (e) 2016-17 financial years.

Mark Lancaster: The requested information for Volunteer Reservists is provided below: Financial YearNumber of Volunteer Reserves who received a Bounty Payment2012-1322,1702013-1421,6002014-1520,8002015-1620,7102016-1722,730 Note:Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10.Figures include all Bounty payments, including partial payments.

Military Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many flying hours have been logged by BAe146 (a) CCMk2 and (b) CMk3 aircraft in each of the last five years.

Harriett Baldwin: The information requested is provided below:  Financial Year BAe 146 CCMk2BAe 146 CMk32012-131,62030 (Came into service February 2013)2013-141,3001,0802014-151,0801,0202015-169806902016-171,100740  *Flying hours are rounded to the nearest 10

Military Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many flying hours have been logged on (a) Griffin HT1, (b) Hawk T1, (c) Hawk T2, (d) King Air B200, (e) Tucano T1, (f) Tutor T1, (g) Squirrel HT1, (h) Vigilant T1 and (i) Viking T1 RAF aircraft in each of the last five years.

Harriett Baldwin: Details of flying hours for RAF aircraft for the last five financial years are given below. The Tutor T1, King Air B200, Squirrel HT1 and Griffin HT1 are contractor owned aircraft but are included for completeness.  Type2012-132013-142014-152015-162016-17Griffin HT13,8505,3305,3205,2004,900Hawk T110,60010,34010,5709,0406,990Hawk T23,4904,4404,9305,6405,370King Air B2003,8104,5903,8704,0503,100Tucano T15,4707,0907,6206,9307,180Tutor T119,65018,26030,57031,43030,870Squirrel HT111,47012,74013,02013,13014,450Vigilant T113,82013,400670670660Viking T14,1404,280260160560

Armed Forces

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Operational Pinch Points there are in the (a) Naval Service, (b) Army Service and (c) RAF Service; and what assessment he has made of the underlying reasons for any deficits in trained strength.

Mark Lancaster: As at 1 October 2017 there were 15 Operational Pinch Points (OPPs) in the Naval Service, 7 in the Army and 11 in the Royal Air Force.OPPs may come from ensuring that our personnel do not go over guidelines on how much time should be spent on operations in any one year, and/or a competitive job market for the trades or areas of expertise involved. The single Services closely monitor any OPPs and apply a range of measures to manage them.

Military Exercises

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2017 to Question 114635, how does a Commander assess humidity, wind speed and air temperature and other atmospheric conditions which may affect the safety of those under his command during an exercise, training or selection event without the use of a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The guidance is that there should always be a Wet Bulb Globe Temperature reading and Commanders should not be undertaking an activity without one if it is felt there is an elevated risk of heat illness.

Ministry of Defence: Brexit

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servants have been recruited so far to his Department to work on matters relating to the UK leaving the EU; and how many more civil servants his Department plans to recruit for such work.

Mark Lancaster: Preparing for the UK's Exit from the EU is cross Government effort. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with Departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning.The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a small central team who have been appointed to deal exclusively with Defence issues relating to the UK's decision to leave the EU. This team draws on a range of colleagues from across the MOD who support EU exit related work, in addition to their normal duties.Given the interactions between EU exit work and the MOD's other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate estimate.

Armed Forces: Bullying

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many allegations of ill-treatment of a subordinate have been made in each of the last ten years; and in which bases such incidents were alleged to have occurred.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The attached table provides information on the numbers of allegations investigated by the Service Police of ill-treatment of a subordinate, by calendar year and location.



116485 -Allegations investigated by Service Police
(Word Document, 59.15 KB)

Army: Resignations

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many soldiers who enlisted in the Army aged (a) under 18 and (b) 18 years or above dropped out before completing phase two training in the last five financial years.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many soldiers who enlisted (a) under 18 years old and (b) 18 years old or above left the Army before completion of their Phase Two training in each of the last five financial years.

Mark Lancaster: The number of soldiers who left the Army before completion of their Phase Two training, broken down by under 18, and 18 and above, in the last five financial years is shown below. Financial YearTotal Under 18 18 and above2012-132,4407801,6602013-141,8806201,2602014-151,7205201,2002015-162,0205501,4702016-171,8405401,300Total9,9003,0106,890  Notes: The figures are for Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service and Mobilised Reserves. Personnel who have left the Army more than once in the last five financial years will be counted each time they left in the table above. Their age on enlistment will vary according to each time they joined the Army. Age on enlistment is calculated using date of birth and entry date recorded on JPA. Where personnel have transferred to the Army from another Service, served under an alternative assignment type (e.g. reserve forces), are re-entrants or have transferred from Other Ranks to Officers, their entry date may correspond to any of these events. For presentation purpose, figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not appear to be the sum of their parts.

Army: Resignations

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many trainee soldiers who enlisted at (a) Army Foundation College (Harrogate) and (b) Infantry Training Centre (Catterick) dropped out before the completion of phase two training in each of the last four financial years.

Mark Lancaster: The number of trainee soldiers who enlisted at Army Foundation College (Harrogate) and Infantry Training Centre (Catterick) who left the Army before the completion of phase two training in each of the last four financial years is shown below. Financial YearArmy Foundation College (Harrogate)Infantry Training Centre (Catterick)2013-144006702014-153806302015-164306202016-17410580 Total1,6202,500 Notes: The table above shows outflow based on where soldiers joined the Army, which is not necessarily where they left from. Junior Entry infantry soldiers who receive Phase One training at Harrogate move on to the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick to complete their Phase Two training The figures are for Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service and Mobilised Reserves. Personnel who have left the Army more than once in the last four financial years will be counted each time they left in the table above. Their training establishment on enlistment may vary each time they joined the Army. For presentation purpose, figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in 5 have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not appear to be the sum of their parts.

Army: Resignations

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Army recruits who left before the end of their Phase 2 training enlisted at the age of (a) 16 and (b) 17 in the last five financial years for which data is available.

Mark Lancaster: The number of soldiers who enlisted at the age of 16 or 17 and left the Army before the end of their Phase Two training in the last five financial years is shown below. Financial YearAge 16Age 172012-134103702013-142803402014-152402802015-163002602016-17280250TOTAL1,5101,500  Notes: The figures are for Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service and Mobilised Reserves. Personnel who have left the Army more than once in the last five financial years will be counted each time they left in the table above. Their age on enlistment will vary according to each time they joined the Army. Age on enlistment is calculated using date of birth and entry date recorded on JPA. Where personnel have transferred to the Army from another Service, served under an alternative assignment type (e.g. reserve forces), are re-entrants or have transferred from Other Ranks to Officers, their entry date may correspond to any of these events.

Reserve Forces: Training

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of the total strength of the Army Reserve as at 1 October 2017 are (a) Phase 1 Trained, (b) Phase 2 (or special to arm) Trained and (c) new entrants or recruits.

Mark Lancaster: The numbers and proportions of the Army Future Reserves 2020 as at 1 October 2017 who are Phase 1 trained, Phase 2 trained and not yet Phase 1 trained are shown below. Training StatusNumberAll Army FR20 Reserves30,330Phase 1 Trained27,080.... of which Phase 2 Trained24,720Not yet Phase 1 Trained3,250 Notes:The number and percentage of Army Reserves who are not yet Phase 1 trained includes recent entrants and recruits. It may also include personnel who have joined the Reserves over a year ago but have not yet completed Phase1 training. Future Reserves 2020 includes volunteer reserves who are mobilised, High Readiness Reserves and those volunteer reserves serving on Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) and Additional Duties Commitment (ADC). Sponsored Reserves who provide a more cost effective solution than volunteer reserve are also included in the Army Reserve FR20. Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Percentages are calculated from unrounded data and presented to one decimal place.

Reserve Forces: Deployment

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the Army Reserve are eligible to (a) deploy on overseas exercises, (b) deploy on overseas operations and (c) be mobilised.

Mark Lancaster: Members of the Army Reserve who are eligible to deploy are shown below:  NumberAll Army Future Reserves 2020 (FR20)30,330Eligible to deploy on overseas exercises (Phase 2 trained)24,720Eligible to deploy on overseas operations (Phase 2 trained)24,720Eligible to be mobilised (Phase 1 trained)27,080 Source: Defence Statistics (Army)Notes/Caveats:The FR20 population consists of Group A Army Reserves, some Sponsored Reserves and those personnel serving on Full Time Reserve Service contracts who were previously Army Reservists.Those who are Phase 2 trained can be deployed on exercises and operations or mobilised for service overseas.Those who have completed Phase 1 training can be mobilised within the UK. However if required they could complete Phase 2 training as part of their pre-deployment training and then be deployed overseas.Before any individual can be deployed or mobilised several checks, including health and welfare, have to be completed and some individuals may not meet the criteria for that particular role.5. Reserve Forces Act 1996 limits the period and frequency of when a reservist can be mobilised. For example, Section 56; for any purpose, limits the period to up to 12 months and any service within the previous 36 months counts towards that period.Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentation purposes; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Reserve Forces: Payments

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the Army Reserve qualified for the annual bounty in each of the last three years.

Mark Lancaster: The numbers of Army Reserve officers and soldiers who have received an annual bounty payment over the last three years is shown in the following table: Financial YearNumber of Recipients2014-1514,2702015-1614,9902016-1714,930 Notes:Data is single service estimate as at 30 November 2017.Figures include all bounty payments, including partial payments.Figures are for Group A Army Reserve officer and soldiers.Figures are rounded to nearest 10. Reservists who are serving on a Full Time Reserve Service engagement are not eligible for bounty payments.

Reserve Forces: Payments

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Army Reserve Soldiers who received their bounty in April 2017 qualified for (a) Year 1 (£444), (b) Year 2 (£982), (c) Year 3 (£1517), (d) Year 4 (£1517) and (e) Year 5 (£1759).

Mark Lancaster: The number of Army Reserve Group A soldiers and officers who received a bounty payment for Training Year 2016-17 is shown below:  Year of QualificationNumber who qualifiedYear 11,980Year 21,470Year 3 and 41,310Year 510,160 Notes: Figures are for Group A Army Reserve Officer and Soldiers. Data is single estimate using Joint Personnel Administration System information. Due to the payment method it is not possible to split out Year 3 and Year 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Reserve Forces: Training

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average number of Manned Training Days undertaken by (a) an individual soldier, (b) a Company (or equivalent) and (c) a Battalion (or equivalent) was in the Army Reserve for the training year April 2016 to March 2017.

Mark Lancaster: The average number of Reserve Service Days, previously known as Manned or Mandatory Training Days, undertaken by individual reservists in the Field Army in the training year April 2016 to March 2017 was 40. All units have unique structures to deliver their specific capability. To get an average number of Reserve Service Days, an infantry structure of a company with a strength of 97 and a battalion with a strength of 439, equates to 3,980 and 17,560 respectively.Notes:These figures are single service estimates and have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. This data considers Field Army units only and is inclusive of military training and unit enabling activity. The figures do not include those reservists that sit outside of the Field Army (for example, Home Command). Nor do they differentiate between soldiers conducting military training and those who can potentially consume more Reserve Service Days working within a headquarters.

Reserve Forces

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of the strength of the Army Reserve as at 1 October 2017 are (a) Regular Soldiers on fixed term attachments, (b) on a Full Time Reserve Soldier Contract, (c) on an Additional Duties Contract and (d) on a Voluntary Training Other Duties agreement.

Mark Lancaster: As at 1 October 2017 the total strength of the Army Future Reserve 2020 (FR20) was 30,330. he following table shows the number and proportion of the Army FR20 strength who are on a Full Time Reserve Soldier or an Additional Duties Contract. ContractNumberPercentageFR20 Reserves on Full Time Reserve Service commitment1,2804.2%FR20 Reserves on an Additional Duties Contract4501.5% Notes: The FR20 population consists of Group A Army Reserves, some Sponsored Reserves and those personnel serving on FTRS contracts who were previously Army Reservists. Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Percentages are calculated from unrounded data and presented to one decimal place. “Fixed Term Attachment” is not a recognised cohort within the Army Reserve. Voluntary Training Other Duties are an element of Reserve Service Days for which all Group A reservists are eligible to be engaged.

Reserve Forces: Deployment

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people on Full Time Reserve Soldier  contracts are eligible (a) to deploy on overseas exercises, (b) to deploy on overseas operations, (c) to be mobilised and (d) for a reduced commitment.

Mark Lancaster: As at 1 October 2017, there were a total of 3,050 Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) Personnel, all of whom are eligible to be mobilised under either their Regular Reserve or Army Reserve liability. The table below shows the number of FTRS serving on Full or Home commitment: FTRS on Full Commitment who can be deployed on overseas exercises and overseas operations260FTRS on Home Commitment who are limited to the UK2,780Source: Defence Statistics (Army) Notes/Caveats:Personnel on FTRS can potentially be deployed as FTRS either overseas or in the UK depending on their commitment.Before any individual can be deployed or mobilised several checks, including health and welfare, have to be completed and some individuals may not meet the criteria for that particular role.Figures exclude FTRS on the "Lead First" Programme.Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Reserve Forces

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of Army Reserve Soldiers as of 1 October 2017 are ex-regulars on the Regular to Reserve bonus scheme.

Mark Lancaster: As at 1 October 2017, 11% (3,235) of the total Army Reserve (30,330) were members of the Regular to Reserve Bonus Scheme.Notes:Figures are single service estimates.All figures are roundedThe figures above are for both officers and soldiers on the scheme.

Reserve Forces: Training

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of Reserve Soldiers on the Regular to Reserve Bonus scheme have achieved (a) Key Milestone 1, (b) Key Milestone 2, (c) Key Milestone 3 and (d) Key Milestone 4 since the introduction of that Scheme on 1 January 2014.

Mark Lancaster: As at 1 October, a total of 4,350 ex regular Service personnel have been accepted onto the Army Reserve ex regular commitment bonus scheme, since the scheme started in April 2013. The table below shows their progression against key milestones to date. Key Milestone (KM)Number of KM Payments Made13,32022,37031,2804480 Notes:Figures are single service estimates.The number of KM payments may include some split payments for a single KM.Key Milestone 1 is achieved 6 months from enlistment to the Army Reserves and once an individual has completed 13 Reserve Service Days, thereafter each KM payment is aligned with an individual achieving their annual (12 month) Certificate of EfficiencyAll figures are rounded to the nearest ten.Some service persons accepted into the scheme may not receive all or any of their payments before leaving the scheme and/or Army ReserveThe figures above are for both officers and soldiers on the scheme.These figures are for all those who have joined since the scheme started in April 2013 (originally as the – TA Commitment Bonus Early Years (TACBEY))

Chinook Helicopters

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to reduce the UK Chinook Force.

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the importance of the UK Chinook Force for the wider capability of the armed forces.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK Chinook Force provides the UK Armed Forces with vital rotary wing heavy lift capability. Defence has invested significantly in enhancing and maintaining the Chinook capability over many years and an upgrade programme will sustain this core capability into the 2040s.

Ministry of Defence: Surrey Satellite Technology

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse is of his Department's stake in Surrey Satellite Technology.

Harriett Baldwin: The Department has committed £4.5 million to the programme.

Satellites

Martin Docherty-Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library details of the Carbonite-2 demonstrator program.

Harriett Baldwin: No, as the details are commercially sensitive. The Ministry of Defence has entered into an agreement with a commercial satellite provider for a capability demonstrator program. This program will play a crucial role in shaping our vision for a future constellation of small satellites, comprising a diverse range of sensors and ground stations, and offers the UK the opportunity to lead the development of that programme.

Nuclear Submarines

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the current value of contingency funding is for the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Programme for work related to the development of the PWR3 for the Dreadnought programme.

Harriett Baldwin: The development of Pressure Water Reactor 3 (PWR3) is part of the Dreadnought submarine programme, which is costed at £31 billion with a £10 billion contingency.

Nuclear Reactors

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the PWR3 nuclear reactor programme will move into its manufacturing phase.

Harriett Baldwin: The Pressurised Water Reactor 3 (PWR3) plant moved into the manufacturing phase in September 2016, following approval for Dreadnought's Delivery Phase 1.

Nuclear Submarines

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to sustain the number of nuclear suitably qualified and experienced engineers and scientists and develop the UK’s next generation of nuclear propulsion experts.

Harriett Baldwin: The Ministry of Defence is a member of the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG) which brings together partners from both the defence and civil nuclear sectors. As per the December 2016 NSSG Strategic Plan, provision of suitably qualified and experienced nuclear propulsion personnel is a key consideration of the NSSG. As part of the UK Industrial Strategy, one of the main proposals of the Nuclear Sector Deal is around skills and training.

Nuclear Submarines

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is planning a nuclear propulsion capability review.

Harriett Baldwin: The Department concluded the Nuclear Propulsion Capability Review in 2016. It is now informing the wider submarine capability management processes and policy.

Army: Staff

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the regular Army’s full-time trained strength was in each of the last 12 months.

Mark Lancaster: The regular Army’s full time trained strength is shown below: As At:Figure01 November 201680,64001 December 201680,37001 January 201780,28001 February 201779,86001 March 201779,44001 April 201779,71001 May 201779,54001 June 201779,28001 July 201779,25001 August 201778,99001 September 201779,44001 October 201779,110Source: Defence Statistics (Army)Notes/Caveats:The above figures are for the Full Time Trained Regular Army only and therefore excludes Gurkhas and Full Time Reserve Service and therefore the numbers above are not counted against the 82k target.The definition of 'Trained' changed in October 2016 to include both Trade Trained Personnel and those personnel undergoing Phase 2 Training and therefore the numbers above are not counted against the 82k target. Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes, numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

MOD Hebrides

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the number of guards at Hebrides Range has been decreased.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 6 December 2017 to Question 117085.



117085 - MOD Hebrides
(Word Document, 12.54 KB)

Ministry of Defence: Travel

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence,  with reference to the transparency document entitled MoD's ministerial travel, April to June 2017, which tickets relating to which journeys were (a) first, (b) business, (c) economy and (d) any other class; and what the cost was of each such ticket.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The table below sets out the travel undertaken by Ministry of Defence Ministers during the period April to June 2017, including the class and cost of each ticket: MinisterDateDestinationMode of TransportClassCostSecretary of State for Defence Sir Michael Fallon MP9/4/17LilleRail (Eurostar)Business£276.0010/4/17-14/04/17Mumbai (Paris to Mumbai) (New Delhi to LHRQ)Civilian AirBusiness Business£3,200.00 £1,936.0019/4/17-20/4/17TalinNo 32 Sqn Fixed WingNilNil8/5/17- 9/5/17CopenhagenNo 32 Sqn Fixed WingNilNil12/5/17- 13/5/17ParisRail (Eurostar)Standard return£368.0025/5/17BrusselsOther military fixed wingNilNil6/6/17CaenNo 32 Sqn Fixed WingNilNil14/6/17- 15/6/17RomaniaCSATNilNil28/6/17- 29/6/17BrusselsCSATNilNilMinister of State in the House of Lords – Earl Howe18/4/17- 25/4/17Vietnam/Japan/KoreaCivilian AirBusiness x2 Economy x 1£4294.3717/5/17- 18/5/17BrusselsNo 32 Sqn Fixed WingNilNilMinister of the State for the Armed Forces – Mike Penning MP26/4/17MaltaCivilian AirEconomy£544.40Minister for Defence Procurement – Harriett Baldwin MP19/6/17ParisCivilian AirEconomy£588.00

Warships: Shipbuilding

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether implementation of the National Shipbuilding Strategy will include steps to benchmark shipbuilding facilities at Birkenhead, Glasgow and Rosyth against the international benchmark originally established by First Marine International as part of the Terms of Business Agreement signed between BAE Systems and his Department so as to ensure that UK complex warship building yards will be able to achieve upper quartile status in international performance.

Harriett Baldwin: One of the key aims of the National Shipbuilding Strategy is to improve the international competitiveness of the UK shipbuilding industry. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is working with industry through the Maritime Enterprise Working Group to undertake a long term programme of improvement. Their initial work will include establishing a comparative assessment of the capacities and capabilities of UK shipbuilders, and exploring best practice. As part of that work, MOD officials have asked the chair of the Maritime Enterprise Working Group to undertake a series of benchmarking studies, the details of which are currently being scoped.

Hawk Aircraft

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of ending Hawk aircraft manufacture in the UK on the UK's sovereign capability to design, build and maintain fast jet aircraft; and if he will take steps to maintain that sovereign capability.

Harriett Baldwin: This Government is committed to keeping the UK a leading aerospace nation. The production line for the Hawk aircraft continues, and will do so for at least another 12 months after Qatar signed a Statement of Intent to buy six new Hawks earlier this year. We continue to work closely with BAE Systems to secure further export orders.More broadly, we recognise that UK industry leads the world in a number of aerospace-related technology and capability areas. We are already working with industry on our long-term requirements, for example, through engagement with BAE Systems on the Future Combat Air System Technology Initiative announced in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review. This work will help inform decisions on the future mix of manned and unmanned fast jet aircraft and provide us with some of the most advanced platforms in the world.

HMS Ocean

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the decommissioning of HMS Ocean on the Royal Navy's LHD capability and the suitability of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers to undertake that role in addition to their replacing the Invincible Class aircraft carriers.

Harriett Baldwin: HMS OCEAN entered service in 1998 with a specific service life, based on her build specification, of 20 years. In accordance with this, OCEAN will be decommissioned, as planned, in 2018.It was stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 that a Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier would be enhanced to support our amphibious capability. Together with the existing amphibious ships of the Royal Navy and the Bay Class ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, this will provide the capability to deploy our amphibious forces.

Military Bases: Nurseries and Schools

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) nurseries and (b) primary schools there are on Armed Forces bases in the UK.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The requested information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment: Motor Neurone Disease

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made made of the effect of personal independence payments assessments on stress levels for sufferers of Motor Neurone Disease.

Sarah Newton: No such assessment has been made. We recognise that attending a face-to-face assessment for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can be a stressful experience for some people, which is why we do not carry out face-to-face consultations where there is enough existing evidence to determine benefit entitlement. Furthermore, where a face-to-face consultation is required, we encourage claimants to bring another person with them to consultations where they would find this helpful to, for example, reassure them or to help them during the consultation. The person chosen is at the discretion of the claimant and might be, but is not limited to, a parent, family member, friend, carer, or advocate. PIP also recognises that for the most severely disabled claimants, the award review process could seem unnecessarily intrusive. Existing PIP claimants with the most severe, lifetime disabilities, whose functional ability has remained the same, are more likely to have their evidence reviewed by a DWP Decision Maker and will not need to have another face-to-face assessment with a health professional.

Universal Credit: Disability

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to include provision similar to the Severe Disability Premium as part of universal credit.

Damian Hinds: The Department has no plans to include provision similar to the Severe Disability Premium as part of Universal Credit. Anyone in the ESA Support Group, who only qualifies for the Enhanced Disability Premium, will be better off in UC by over £90 per month.

Employment and Support Allowance: Maladministration

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2017 to Question 115232, how many claimants of Employment and Support Allowance were subject to payment miscalculations in each (a) 2011, (b) 2012, (c) 2013, (d) 2014 and (e) 2015, and what the timetable is for those claimant to be reimbursed.

Sarah Newton: The Department estimates that around 270,000 cases need to be looked at again and that around 75,000 of those cases (5% of the population transferred over from incapacity benefits) may have been underpaid. The Department has already started contacting individuals to establish if there has been an underpayment of premiums and a small number of claims have already been corrected and the arrears that are due have been paid. The Department expects to complete the review and correct cases by April 2019. We will update the House shortly.

Low Pay

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish a breakdown of the £8 million investment announced in the Autumn Budget for in-work support for low-paid workers on universal credit.

Damian Hinds: The Autumn Budget 2017 document sets out the costs of announced policy decisions, including the additional investment for in-work progression trials in Universal Credit. This can be found the gov.uk website (on page 28): https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/661480/autumn_budget_2017_web.pdf. The figures published in the table are rounded to the nearest £5m in any year.

Department for Work and Pensions: Brexit

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by his Department and (b) his Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. Staff within the EU and International Affairs Division lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure for the information you have requested.

Unemployment: Older People

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has to tackle unemployment among people over the age of 50 who have been made redundant.

Damian Hinds: The Government is committed to supporting people aged 50 and over to remain in or return to the labour market and recognises that people who are made redundant over the age of 50 face additional barriers. In Feb 2017, Government published a new strategy ‘Fuller Working Lives: A Partnership Approach. The Strategy is led by employers, but also sets out the case for action by individuals, and the role of Government in supporting older workers to remain in and return to work. The Strategy and supporting evidence base are available at the attached web address: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fuller-working-lives-a-partnership-approach To tackle outdated perceptions about older workers Government appointed the Business In The Community (BITC) Age at Work leadership team led by Andy Briggs, CEO of Aviva UK Life and Chairman of Global Life, as Business Champion for Older Workers, to spearhead the Government’s work. The team actively promote the benefits of older workers to employers across England – influencing them both strategically and in terms of practical advice. DWP has expanded the Older Claimant Champion network in all 34 Jobcentre Plus districts. The Older Claimant Champions work collaboratively with over 11,000 work coaches and employer facing staff to raise the profile of older workers, highlight the benefits of employing older jobseekers and share best practice. Everyone that claims Universal Credit will get targeted, personalised and work focussed support. The Department aims to support claimants with the same Work Coach throughout the duration of their Universal Credit claim, meaning claimants can build a relationship with their Work Coach.

Department for Work and Pensions: Brexit

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to the House of Lords European Union Committee on 31 October, how many civil servants his Department has (a) recruited and (b) expects to recruit to work on the UK's leaving the EU.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. Staff within the EU and International Affairs Division lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure for the information you have requested.

Pensions: Advisory Services

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with representatives of the pensions industry on improving guidance and information on pensions provided to people at retirement age.

Guy Opperman: Ministers and officials of the Department regularly meet with representatives from the pensions industry and will continue to do so ahead of the introduction of the new single financial guidance body and development of the pensions dashboard. The Single Financial Guidance Body aims to simplify the existing public financial guidance landscape, including pensions guidance, and will provide even more opportunities to support people to make better informed decisions about their pension. The Department is committed to ensuring that there is adequate provision of high quality information and guidance for those preparing to access their pension.

Pension Wise

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making Pension Wise an opt-out service.

Guy Opperman: We are considering all options for making sure people have access to whatever source of advice or guidance they feel is right for them. One of the core objectives of the new Single Financial Guidance Body will be to rationalise and build on the fantastic pensions guidance that is already available. The new body will bring the expertise of the existing services together to increase take up and engagement with guidance.

Department for Work and Pensions: Brexit

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the additional funding required by his Department over the next two years to prepare effectively for the UK leaving the EU.

Damian Hinds: Like all departments, the Department for Work and Pensions is planning for a number of EU Exit scenarios. Over £250m of additional funding has been approved across a number of departments in 2017/18 to prepare for Brexit. We have reprioritised during this financial year as necessary, whilst the costs of EU Exit in future years will be affected by negotiations over the coming months. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has confirmed that the government will guarantee European Union funding for all structural and investment fund projects signed before the Autumn Statement 2016, and those signed after that date but before we leave the European Union so long as they are good value for money and in line with domestic strategic priorities, even when these projects continue after we have left.

Department for Work and Pensions: Liverpool Walton

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what property his Department (a) leases and (b)  owns in Liverpool Walton constituency.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department does not lease any properties within the Walton constituency. There are three leased Jobcentre properties that cover postcodes within the Walton constituency: Everton Jobcentre, Premier House 95 Breckfield Road, North Liverpool, L5 4NQKirby Jobcentre, St Chad’s House, St Chad’s Drive, Kirkby, Liverpool, L32 8RWWest Derby Jobcentre, Springfield House, 416 Eaton Road, West Derby, Liverpool, L12 3HT The Department does not own any properties nationally.

Department for Work and Pensions: Liverpool Walton

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people his Department employs in Liverpool Walton constituency.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department for Work and Pensions employs 168 people in Liverpool Walton Constituency.

Department for Work and Pensions: Databases

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department makes of a person's cognitive capacity when holding them responsible for ensuring that the financial data relating to them held by his Department is accurate.

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what processes are in place to protect people with diminishing cognitive capacity from accruing arrears when they have failed to offer updates of any changes to their circumstances that may affect their entitlement to pension credits.

Guy Opperman: Claimants are responsible for the information they provide to the Department. If there is any doubt as to the person’s cognitive capacity at the point that information is, or should be supplied, the Department can, if it is appropriate, initiate its appointeeship process. This involves the Secretary of State appointing a third party to act for the claimant in managing their benefit affairs. Where this happens the claimant themselves is no longer responsible for the accuracy of any information subsequently provided to the Department. If an appointment is made, any advantageous changes which have not been reported will be considered and potentially could be paid from the date of the change. If the change is disadvantageous and there has been an overpayment of benefit, it can be recovered – the appointeeship will not act retrospectively to preclude this being done.

Personal Independence Payment

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2017 to Question 7357, how many of the 88,920 people aged 65-69 previously awarded disability living allowance who were reassessed as a personal independence payments case have (a) had an award reduced or (b) received no award.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Mortgages: Interest Payments

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to support people who, in the event of outstanding loans on their property increasing due to the replacement of mortgage interest credits with an interest-bearing loan from April 2018 (a) accrue negative equity in their home, (b) are threatened with re-possession of their home and (c) have their home re-possessed.

Caroline Dinenage: Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans will continue to provide robust protection against repossession to all eligible claimants in times of need. The level of support available will be calculated in the same way as under the current benefit system. Claimants who take SMI loans and mortgage lenders will not see any difference in the payments they receive. There is no reason to expect lenders to behave any differently to now and we do not anticipate that this measure will lead to an increase either in threats to repossess or the number of homes that are repossessed. A low level of interest will be charged on these loans based on the cost of gilts. This rate reflects the cost of Government borrowing and is forecast to be 1.5 per cent when SMI loans are introduced in April 2018. Recovery of SMI loans will not be pursued until the property is sold or transferred, although a recipient may volunteer early repayment at any time that they are able to do so. If the amount of equity available to the Department for Work and Pensions after the sale of the property is less than the amount due to be recovered the balance will be written off. This includes cases where the property has negative equity. SMI benefit claimants are being contacted in advance of loans being introduced in April 2018.Claimants are given information about how the SMI loan will work, about alternatives to the loan and organisations that can offer further information. Claimants are encouraged to consider how they can fulfil their mortgage commitments should they choose not to take up an SMI loan.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2017 to Questions 116201, 116202, 116204 and 116205, whether his Department has consulted with local residents on the potential impact on traffic and street parking in the vicinity of Shettleston Jobcentre as a result of its merger with Bridgeton, Easterhouse and Parkhead Jobcentres.

Damian Hinds: Accessibility and transport for staff and claimants were considered as part of the planning of the mergers which make best use of space at Shettleston Jobcentre. Local managers are in regular contact with Glasgow City Council and Police Scotland who are aware of these moves and have not identified any specific issues to date. We have agreed that the reconfigured service will be an agenda item at key stakeholder meetings over the coming months to ensure that DWP and their partners are discussing and resolving any issues that may arise around parking and access to Shettleston Jobcentre as part of our partnership agenda. There is no legal requirement for the Department to conduct an impact assessment on potential effects of traffic, parking or air quality in the vicinity of Shettleston Jobcentre. The Shettleston office has been significantly under-utilised in recent years but has previously accommodated in excess of 120 staff and related customer service activity with no issues relating to parking or transport. It is worth reiterating that due to the complexity of the commercial process with negotiations on hundreds of leases and to protect our commercial position, we were unable to discuss information about specific offices until negotiations concluded and plans announced. However, there are no concerns from these stakeholders regarding traffic or parking at this time.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2017 to Questions 116201, 116202, 116204 and 116205, if he will adopt a policy of no sanctions at Shettleston Jobcentre after its merger with Bridgeton, Easterhouse and Parkhead Jobcentres where a claimant is late for an appointment and they give the reason that they were unable to find a parking space for their vehicle.

Damian Hinds: There are no plans to adopt a policy of no sanctions at Shettleston where a claimant is late for an appointment and where the reason given is that they were unable to find a parking space for their vehicle. DWP recognises that merging jobcentres will mean that some claimants will be taking an unfamiliar journey to their new jobcentre. Work coaches will continue to support claimants affected by the change, over the transition period, until they become familiar with new travel arrangements. DWP does not expect any proposed changes to the estate in itself to result in additional sanctions.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2017 to Questions 116201, 116202, 116204 and 116205, if his Department will estimate how many customers on average will drive themselves to Shettleston Jobcentre each day after its merger with Bridgeton, Easterhouse and Parkhead Jobcentres.

Damian Hinds: There are no plans to estimate the number of customers who will drive themselves to Shettlestone Jobcentre after its merger with Bridgeton, Easterhouse and Parkhead Jobcentres.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2017 to Questions 116201, 116202, 116204 and 116205, if his Department will estimate how many staff on average will drive themselves to Shettleston Jobcentre each day after its merger with Bridgeton, Easterhouse and Parkhead Jobcentres.

Damian Hinds: Although the Department for Work and Pensions does not collect information about staff who drive to work, a list of staff who require car parking at Shettleston Jobcentre, will be kept locally.

Personal Independence Payment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants have been moved from a higher rate mobility component to a lower rate as a result of their transfer from Disability Living Allowance to personal independence payments since such transfers began.

Sarah Newton: The latest available data on the outcome of initial decisions on Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) reassessments can be found in the statistical tables released in December 2016 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/576641/pip-official-statistics-dla-to-pip-reassessment-outcomes-october-2016.ods Table 8A shows a comparison of DLA and PIP level of award for DLA reassessment claimants who were reassessed onto PIP prior to October 31st 2016, the latest date for which published data is available. Updated tables containing data to October 31st 2017 will be published on December 13th 2017.

Personal Independence Payment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to make an assessment of the effectiveness of his Department's pilot for recording face-to-face medical assessments for PIP.

Sarah Newton: We recently conducted a pilot to consider whether there are any benefits to recording face-to-face assessments. We are currently considering the findings of this pilot, and will use the evidence gathered to make sure we can continue to improve the assessments process.

Universal Credit: Wales

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria were used to determine which job centres in Wales would have their full transition to universal credit delayed as set out in the Universal Credit Transition to Full Service Guidance update issued on 23 November 2017.

Damian Hinds: There are no plans to pause or delay the rollout of Universal Credit. We have however, carefully revised the rollout plan to ensure we continue safely and gradually to rollout this important welfare reform, and this will mean a slight change in date for when Universal Credit Full Service will be rolled out in some jobcentres.

Universal Credit: Carers

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many responsible carers by number and age of children have been sanctioned under universal credit.

Damian Hinds: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Employment and Support Allowance

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in the Employment Support Allowance work-related activity group are not eligible for the work-related activity component under the provisions of s15 of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit: Disability

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many disabled people who have applied for universal credit have had to wait for more than five weeks to receive their first payment.

Damian Hinds: The latest available analysis covers claims to UC Full Service that were due a first payment in September 2017. Of claims which received support for a disability, 82% received a full or partial payment on time.

Universal Credit: Lone Parents

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many lone parents who have applied for universal credit have had to wait for more than five weeks to receive their first payment.

Damian Hinds: The latest available analysis covers claims to UC Full Service that were due a first payment in September 2017. Of the paid claims to lone parents, 89% received a full or partial payment on time.

Universal Credit: Part-time Employment

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether universal credit claimants who are in part-time work must in some circumstances continue to look for further work or face a sanction.

Damian Hinds: In Universal Credit there is a stronger link between people receiving benefit and meeting their responsibilities. This includes clear and sustained work-related obligations. Claimants are expected to take responsibility for meeting the conditionality requirements they have agreed and they will be supported by their Work Coach. Universal Credit provides us with the opportunity to support people to progress, and we are building the evidence about what works through a series of trials. Our Randomised Control Trial (RCT) looks at whether Work Coach support and mandatory activity agreed with claimants can support progression. Those on Universal Credit with earnings above the Administrative Earnings Threshold and who are not part of our Randomised Control Trial are not currently expected to undertake mandatory job search activity. Universal Credit includes some claimants with very low earnings beneath the Administrative Earnings Threshold. Such claimants would be expected to undertake mandatory activity agreed in their Claimant Commitment.

Social Security Benefits: Children

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children aged less than 17 receive (a) disability living allowance, (b) personal independence payments and (c) armed forces independence payments.

Sarah Newton: The latest available data on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) caseloads (i.e. claims in payment) broken down by year of age can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html. Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP) is a weekly benefit which can be claimed by current or former members of the armed forces who were seriously injured whilst in the armed forces. There are currently no AFIP claimants under the age of 17.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Game: Animal Welfare

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department takes to (a) enforce the Welfare Code for game birds and (b) ensure that cages used for breeding pheasants and partridges meet animal welfare standards.

George Eustice: The welfare of gamebirds is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes provides keepers with guidance on how to meet the welfare needs of their gamebirds, as required by the Act. The Code recommends that barren cages for breeding pheasants and small barren cages for breeding partridges should not be used and that any system should be appropriately enriched. The Act and Defra’s Code are enforced by the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

Animal Welfare: Sentencing

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to consult Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and other animal welfare charities on draft legislative proposals to increase the maximum animal cruelty sentence to five years imprisonment.

George Eustice: As announced on 30 September, draft legislation to increase the maximum penalty for animal cruelty to five years will be published for consultation around the turn of the year. We will welcome comments from animal welfare charities who have campaigned for this change.

Carbon Emissions: Agriculture

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to supporting more sustainable, low emission agriculture.

George Eustice: In October 2017, the Government published its emissions reduction plan, the Clean Growth Strategy. The Strategy sets out the Government’s ambition for reducing greenhouse gas emissions whilst growing the economy. The land and agriculture sector plays a significant role in low carbon growth, supported by a system of incentives to increase efficiency and improve our natural environment. The approach to mitigating emissions from agriculture currently focusses on industry voluntary initiatives brought together under the umbrella of the Greenhouse Gas Action Plan. The Plan has delivered a saving of around 1 Million Tonnes of CO2 per year, with a target to achieve a 3 Million Tonnes CO2 per year saving by 2022. As we leave the EU we will design a new system of future agricultural support to focus on delivering better environmental outcomes, including lower emissions.

Game: Animal Welfare

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has plans to bring forward legislative proposals banning the keeping of game birds in cages; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: The welfare of game birds is protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes, provides keepers with guidance on how to meet the welfare needs of their game birds, as required by the Act. The Code recommends that barren cages for breeding pheasants and small barren cages for breeding partridges should not be used and that any system should be appropriately enriched. The Act and Defra’s Code are enforced by the Animal and Plant Health Agency. We are not currently planning to change these requirements.

Cetaceans: Conservation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dolphins, porpoises, whales, harbour seals and other protected species have been accidentally caught by commercial fishing vessels operating in UK waters by vessels registered (a) in the UK, (b) in other EU countries and (c) elsewhere in each of the last 10 years.

George Eustice: We do not have information on the exact number of dolphins, porpoises, whales, harbour seals and other protected species which have been accidentally caught by commercial fishing vessels operating in UK waters. Estimates derived from observer data can be found at: http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=18535. We do not hold data on other EU countries’ vessels which means we are unable carry out robust assessments.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Legatum Institute

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what meetings Ministers of his Department have had with representatives of the Legatum Institute in the last 12 months.

George Eustice: Details of Ministerial Meetings are published in the Department's Quarterly Transparency Returns, which are made publicly available on GOV.UK.

Primates: Sales

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on licensing for business selling pets on the sale of primates.

George Eustice: Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is already against the law to keep primates in the same sort of environment you would keep a domesticated pet animal. In addition, the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-human Primates provides keepers with advice on how to meet the welfare needs of their animals, as required under the 2006 Act. My department is working closely with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group to apply minimum standards to online pet advertising on five of the main websites. The standards include a requirement to remove any adverts for primates. We are also updating the licensing regime for certain activities involving animals including pet shops and other pet sellers. Under the new plans businesses selling pets, including those selling online, will be required to give buyers written information about the animals they buy with details of how to meet the five welfare needs of their pets under the 2006 Act. In the meantime, if anyone has any concerns about the welfare of a particular primate they should report it to the relevant local authority who have powers to investigate such matters, or to the RSPCA who can also investigate.

Primates: Animal Welfare

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how frequently the Code of Practice for the welfare of privately kept non-human primates has been reviewed; and if he will include that code in his Department’s review of other statutory animal welfare codes.

George Eustice: There is no date set for the review of the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-human Primates (the primate code) as the code is current and does not need updating. The welfare codes for cats, dogs and horses are currently being reviewed because they are in greater need of being updated. The primate code is available for local authorities to use in any situations where they have concerns about the welfare of such animals.

Primates: Pets

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will ban the (a) trade or (b) keeping of primates as pets.

George Eustice: Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is already against the law to keep primates in the same sort of environment you would keep a domesticated pet animal. In addition, the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Privately Kept Non-human Primates provides keepers with advice on how to meet the welfare needs of their animals, as required under the 2006 Act.Defra is working closely with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group to apply minimum standards to online pet advertising on five of the main websites. The standards include a requirement to remove any adverts for primates.In the meantime, if anyone has any concerns about the welfare of a particular primate they should report it to the relevant local authority who have powers to investigate such matters, or to the RSPCA who can also investigate.

Whales: Iceland

Kevin Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the issue of whaling was discussed during his visit to Iceland in August 2017.

George Eustice: During his visit to Iceland in August, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs raised the UK's continued opposition to commercial whaling with the Icelandic Prime Minister.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Brexit

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate he has made of the additional funding required by his Department over the next two years to prepare effectively for the UK leaving the EU.

George Eustice: Like all departments, Defra is planning for a number of scenarios to make sure we are ready to leave the EU. Over £250m of additional funding has already been approved across a number of departments in 2017/18 to prepare for Brexit. Defra has received additional funding this year, and has reprioritised to meet new pressures arising from Brexit preparations. The additional funding received from the Reserve for 2017/18 will be set out at Supplementary Estimates. The costs of preparing to leave the EU in 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years will be affected by negotiations over the coming months and will be agreed with HM Treasury in early 2018.

Pigmeat: UK Trade with EU

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Secretary of State for International Trade on assessing current EU non-tariff barriers on pig products.

George Eustice: Ministers and officials meet their counterparts in the Department for International Trade on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues in trade policy. Leaving the EU is a golden opportunity to secure bold and ambitious trade agreements that work for consumers, farmers and businesses in the UK. We will not water down our standards as part of any future trade deals.

Pigs: Antibiotics

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate on retaining the use of antibiotics in medicated feed for the prevention of disease in the pig sector.

George Eustice: Defra, through its Executive Agency, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), is working with the livestock industry and the animal feed sector to ensure good stewardship of antibiotics, regardless of the administration route, notably through the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA). In the pig sector, the VMD is a member of the Pig Health and Welfare Council’s antimicrobial usage subgroup and provides the secretariat. In October, RUMA published sector specific antibiotic use reduction targets. The targets for the pig sector noted that the need for targeted prophylaxis will remain to protect the health and welfare of pigs but that habitual or routine prophylaxis (a “just in case” approach) should be rapidly phased out. The Government endorses these antibiotic use reduction targets.

Circuses: Animal Welfare

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to introduce legislative proposals to ban the use of animals in travelling circuses in the current session of Parliament.

George Eustice: The Government’s policy is to introduce a ban on the use of wild animals in travelling circuses as soon as Parliamentary time allows. In the interim, the welfare of any wild animals still being used by travelling circuses in England is protected by the Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012.

Food: USA

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on (a) food standards and (b) salmonella rates in eggs of a free trade agreement with the United States.

George Eustice: No specific assessment of these issues has been made. It is too early to say exactly what would be covered in a future deal with the United States. Leaving the EU is a golden opportunity for us to secure bold and ambitious trade agreements that work for consumers, farmers, and businesses in the UK. We will not water down our standards as part of any future trade deals.

Agriculture

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to protect the economic viability of smaller farms.

George Eustice: Leaving the EU gives us an opportunity to set new policies which specifically benefit British agriculture and the environment. The Government is committed to supporting our farmers to produce high quality food and providing the best possible value for money to the British taxpayer. We will continue to commit the same cash total in funds for farm support until the end of the parliament, and we intend to continue supporting farms of all sizes for many more years to come where the benefits of that spending are clear.

Dogs: Animal Breeding

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to modernise the licensing scheme for dog breeding and selling to improve the welfare of dogs.

George Eustice: In February, Defra published its proposals to update the laws that regulate the breeding and selling of dogs to improve their welfare. The proposals are currently being finalised and a Statutory Instrument should be laid before Parliament next year.

Animal Welfare: Codes of Practice

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2017 to Question 115879, on what basis his Department decides which of its statutory welfare codes should be prioritised for updating.

George Eustice: The prioritisation of future updates to statutory welfare codes which are not currently under consideration will be guided by their need for improvement. This will include considering legislative changes and husbandry advances that have taken place since those codes were last updated.

Floods

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the effect of riparian ownership laws on the number and extent of cases of flooding; and whether there are plans to transfer ownership of culverts with the potential to cause flooding to (a) the Environment Agency or (b) local authorities.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The government has no plans to undertake an assessment of the effect of riparian ownership laws on the number and extent of cases of flooding. There is a common law duty on owners of land to keep watercourses clear of anything that could cause an obstruction, either on their own land or downstream if it is washed away. Land owners have the same responsibilities for the upkeep of a culverted watercourse as if it were an open watercourse. There are no plans to transfer ownership of culverts to the Environment Agency or local authorities. The Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authorities and Internal Drainage Boards have powers to require landowners to maintain the flow of their watercourses.

Water: Environment Protection

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment has he made of the environmental sustainability of England's chalk streams; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Classifications of water body status published with the River Basin Management plans (October 2015) contain an assessment of environmental sustainability. These were last updated in autumn 2016. The Environment Agency continues to monitor water quality at thousands of sampling points and flow at its gauging stations across England. Chalk streams are well represented in these assessments. Results for individual rivers can be found on the Catchment Data Explorer at http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning.

Animal Welfare

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to give animal sentience protection under the law; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Secretary of State set out the Government’s position in a Written Ministerial Statement on 23 November: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2017-11-23/HCWS267/

Cats: Tagging

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce compulsory microchipping of domestic cats.

George Eustice: Whilst we recommend that cat owners have their cats microchipped, there are no plans to make this compulsory. Microchipping was made compulsory for dogs not just to help reunite stray dogs with their owners, but also because stray dogs can generate public safety and environmental issues.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his oral contribution of 5 September 2017, Official Report, column 82, Grenfell Tower and Building Safety, for how many years will Grenfell Tower fire survivors pay the same rent as they previously paid for their homes in Grenfell Tower.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his oral contribution of 5 September 2017, Official Report, column 82, Grenfell Tower and Building Safety, what steps has he taken to ensure that all Grenfell Tower residents will be not pay rent for the first year and subsequently pay the same as they previously paid in rent.

Alok Sharma: The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) is leading on the rehousing of survivors of the fire at Grenfell Tower and being supported by my Department on this matter. We will continue to support RBKC's initiative to provide a rent-free period for Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk survivors.Survivors who lived in Grenfell Tower or Grenfell Walk will not pay any rent, service charges, Council Tax or utility bills until 1 July 2019. This applies whether they are living in an interim or permanent home.Subsequently, the Council have confirmed that the rent and service charges for their new permanent home will be no greater than the amount that tenants were paying as tenants whilst in Grenfell Tower or Grenfell Walk; this applies even if they are rehoused to a larger home.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make a financial contribution towards the costs levied on leaseholders who are required to remove cladding on grounds of safety as a consequence of the Grenfell Tower disaster; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: Those local authorities and Housing Associations with which we are in discussion have indicated that they are choosing not to pass on the costs of interim measures or the remediation of cladding systems to individual flat owners within their buildings. I am clear that this is the right approach.For the private sector, it is for the responsible person to take the necessary steps to ensure the safety of residents. In some cases these costs will naturally fall to the freeholder, landlord, or those acting on their behalf. Where they do not, I would urge those with responsibility to follow the lead of the social sector, and some private companies and not to pass on costs to leaseholders.I also want to make sure leaseholders can access specialist advice to understand their rights. My Department is providing additional funding to the Leaseholder Advisory Service to provide a dedicated advice and dispute resolution service to those leaseholders affected. This will complement the excellent work being done by the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Leasehold and Common hold reform and other organisations.

Religious Hatred: Islam

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the conclusions of the Tell MAMA Annual Report for 2016 on Anti-Muslim Hatred on the gender of victims and the majority identity of perpetrators of such hatred.

Mr Marcus Jones: We take hate crime in all its forms very seriously: the United Kingdom has some of the strongest hate crime legislation in the world. The statistical breakdowns provided by Tell MAMA give an invaluable insight into the extent and nature of the deplorable abuse which Muslim citizens are subjected to on account of their belief or appearance. It is notable that most reported offline incidents of anti-Muslim hatred involve male perpetrators and that the majority of victims of offline incidents are women, most of whom are visibly Muslim. The Government has committed funding of £100 million to counter violence against women and girls with prosecutions and convictions for such offences rising 63 per cent since 2007-08.This Government has done more than any other to tackle anti-Muslim hatred. We set up the first ever cross-government working group on anti-Muslim hatred. We have funded Tell MAMA, the first service to record incidents, support victims and raise community awareness of how to report anti-Muslim hate incidents. We are also disaggregating religious hate crime data held by the police to reveal the true scale and nature of the problem. Funding has been made available for the security of mosques and other faith establishments.

Housing: Construction

Mr Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what consideration the Government is giving to the delivery of place quality in its national housebuilding strategy.

Alok Sharma: The Housing White Paper sets out a number of measures to strengthen national planning policy on design. These measures include:Planning reform to strengthen policy requirements for good design in the National Planning Policy Framework and in Local Plans.Supporting wider use of Neighbourhood Planning.Providing additional funding to authorities to help them plan for growth and improve design.Working with Homes England to set quality criteria for funded housing programmes.Highlighting examples of good practice in housing design through support for awards.Highlighting best practice for community engagement, including the use of digital platforms to visualise designs.I also launched a government commitment to raising design quality at a recent Design Quality Symposium hosted by the RIBA, attended by members of the housing industry, local authorities, professional bodies, academics and other government departments.In a Written Ministerial Statement on 4 December, I set out provisions to support design skills, capacity and capability through the Planning Delivery Fund. This £25 million fund will help to support a step change in design quality of new development, as well as design advice and support to local authorities delivering growth.The Planning Delivery Fund prospectus is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-delivery-fund-prospectus

INTERREG Programme

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to support the participation of English regions in European Territorial Cooperation programmes after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Marcus Jones: The future relationship we will have with the EU is being agreed through the formal negotiations between the Government and European Commission. It would be premature to speculate about the precise nature of that at this stage.The Government has been clear that it wants to create a new era of cooperation and partnership between the UK and the EU. We are negotiating to secure a deal that works for every region in the country.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities have received a) extra borrowing approval and b) the ability to transfer money from the general fund in order to carry out fire safety work on tower blocks.

Alok Sharma: 36 local authorities have been in touch with my Department regarding work to ensure fire safety in tower blocks.My Department has asked nine local authorities to provide more detailed information about the support they require for essential works. Two of these local authorities have provided this detailed information so far. My officials are working with them on their requests to assess what support we might provide.My Department has asked the remaining 25 local authorities to contact us again if they consider a building to be unsafe, once they have deemed what measures are essential to make the building fire-safe. This should be based on expert advice and take into account any recommendations or advice from the local fire and rescue service.

Garden Communities

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on the criteria for board membership of garden settlement development corporations; and will be responsible for appointing such board members.

Alok Sharma: Our proposals for the membership of the Board of locally led New Town Development Corporations and appointments to the Board are set out in our consultation document on the draft New Towns Act 1981 (Local Authority Oversight) Regulations which we published on Monday 4 December.We welcome views on our consultation proposals. We have placed a copy of the consultation document in the Library of the House and it can be found on-line at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-new-towns-act-1981-local-authority-oversight-regulations

Housing: Construction

Bim Afolami: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the additional powers granted to Homes England that were announced in Autumn Budget 2017 will be; and what the timetable is for guidance to be given to planning inspectors on the nature, extent and exercise of those powers.

Alok Sharma: As the Chancellor set out in the Autumn Budget, the Homes and Community Agency will expand to become Homes England. This will bring together money, expertise, and planning and compulsory purchase powers, Homes England will have a clear remit to facilitate delivery of sufficient new homes, where they are most needed, to deliver a sustained improvement in affordability.Homes England will have access to a number of planning powers. The Budget statement signalled a new role for an expanded, more assertive Homes England. Homes England will use its money, expertise and available powers, where necessary, to intervene in local markets to get more homes built. Further details on the remit of Homes England will follow in due course.

Community Housing Fund

Scott Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans announce the funding allocations for the Community Housing Fund.

Alok Sharma: On 27 November 2017, I announced that the programme to deliver the Community Housing Fund will be launched in January 2018 and will be delivered by Homes England (currently the Homes and Communities Agency). Any appropriate organisation – including appropriately constituted community groups, local authorities and registered providers of affordable housing – will be invited to submit applications for capital and revenue grant funding to support community-led housing projects anywhere in England. The first allocations from the Fund in 2018 are expected to be made around Easter.

Females: Refuges

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many women’s refuges have closed in (a) Kirklees, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) England in each of the last 7 years.

Mr Marcus Jones: My Department does not hold information on refuge closures. We expect local areas to assess their need of services and support for victims of domestic abuse and to provide for that need, for this reason the Government has devolved power and responsibility accordingly.In our Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy the Government committed to review the local approach to refuge provision, two years after the launch of the £20 million Fund (by November 2018). We have launched a tender for an audit of local authority commissioning of domestic abuse services, including refuge, which will inform our review.

Homelessness: Liverpool City Region

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to pilot the Housing First model to prevent homelessness in the Liverpool City Region.

Mr Marcus Jones: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave to the Hon Member for Garston and Halewood to Question UIN 116154 on 5 December 2017.

Department for Communities and Local Government: Brexit

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to the House of Lords European Union Committee on 31 October, how many civil servants his Department (a) has recruited and (b) expects to recruit to work on leaving the EU.

Mr Marcus Jones: Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning.Staff within the EU exit team lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Guide Dogs

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to reduce the number of access refusals of guide dogs owners?

Alok Sharma: Under the Equality Act 2010, service providers have an anticipatory duty to make reasonable adjustments to provide access to their buildings or services, which should include access for guide dog owners.

Department for Communities and Local Government: Legatum Institute

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what meetings Ministers of his Department have had with representatives of the Legatum Institute in the last 12 months.

Mr Marcus Jones: Details of Ministers' meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on Gov.uk and can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-ministerial-data

Department for Communities and Local Government: Brexit

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by his Department and (b) his Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Mr Marcus Jones: Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning.Staff within the EU exit team lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many starter homes he expects to be built over the course of this Parliament.

Alok Sharma: We are supporting people's aspirations to buy through a range of initiatives including Help to Buy, Right to Buy, greater funding for Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy, and our plans for starter homes. Since Spring 2010 Government-backed schemes have helped over 430,000 households to buy a home and the number of first-time buyers is at a nine-year annual high. At last month's Budget, the Government announced that first-time buyers will pay zero stamp duty on the first £300,000 of any home that costs up to £500,000.The definition of starter homes is being finalised as part of the revised draft National Planning Policy Framework, which we will be consulting on in early 2018.

Supported Housing: Finance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons his Department made the decision not to use the existing category of specified exempt accommodation as the basis for funding short-term supported housing in the proposals contained in the consultation document, Funding Supported Housing: Policy Statement and Consultation, published in October 2017.

Mr Marcus Jones: The definition of Specified Accommodation is much wider in scope. The short-term accommodation definition published in the consultation document sets the parameters for crisis and transitional provision which will be funded through the short-term accommodation grant.

Supported Housing: Finance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the proposals contained in the consultation document Funding Supported Housing: Policy Statement and Consultation, published in October 3017, what steps he is taking to ensure that an individual’s entitlement for help with their housing costs through (a) housing benefit and (b) the housing cost element of universal credit will be unchanged.

Mr Marcus Jones: As stated in the Funding Supported Housing: Policy Statement and Consultation published on 31 October 2017, an individual’s entitlement for help with their housing costs (through Housing Benefit or the housing cost element of Universal Credit) remains unchanged. Housing costs will be covered by the short-term accommodation grant so there will not be any eligible housing costs.

First-time Buyers

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, of the £2.3 billion allocated to starter homes in the Autumn Statement 2015, how much had been spent by April 2017; and what allowance is now being made for total capital spending under that heading to 2020-21 in the (a) Greater London Authority area and (b) England.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the funding allocated to the Housing Infrastructure Fund, excluding Barnett Formula consequential spending, but including the Greater London Authority area, over the next 4 years.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of total spending on the Accelerated Construction Fund, excluding Barnett consequential spending, in the (a) Greater London Authority area and (b) England in each of the next four financial years to 2020-21.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of total spending on the Land Assembly Fund, excluding Barnett consequential spending, in (a) the Greater London Authority area and (b) England in each of the next four financial years to 2020-21.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of total spending on small sites infrastructure and remediation, excluding Barnett consequential spending, in (a) the Greater London Authority area (b) England in each of the next four financial years to 2020-21.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated for estate regeneration in (a) the Greater London Authority area and (b) England in each of the next four financial years to 2020/21; and of how much of that funding is (i) grant spending and (ii) loans.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of total spending on garden cities, towns and villages, excluding Barnett consequential spending, in (a) the Greater London Authority area and (b) England in each of  the next four financial years to 2020-21.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of total spending on the Home Building Fund, excluding Barnett consequential spending, in (a) the Greater London Authority area and (b) England in each of the next four financial years to 2020-21.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the timescale is for the roll-out of the new financial guarantees for house building outlined in Autumn Budget 2017; what estimate has made of the amount that will be spent over each of the next four financial years to 2020-21; and what the expected output is in terms of new homes delivered.

Alok Sharma: A summary of the budget profiles up to 2020/21 will be published as part of my Department’s main estimates for 2018/19.The Autumn Budget demonstrated our determination to fix the broken housing market, allocating funding as far ahead as 2022-23. This includes £15 billion of new financial support over the next five years, bringing the total package of financial support to £44 billion over the period.New financial support measures announced at Autumn Budget for the four years to 2020-21 are set in the Budget book.On the new financial guarantees for house building outlined at Autumn Budget, we will be working to engage the market over coming months as to the most effective way of deploying these guarantees in order to pursue our housing goals.Following the additional financial support for housing announced in the Autumn Budget, my Department is now reviewing the budget profiles of existing housing programmes to ensure these are aligned with this new funding.We will discuss appropriate arrangements and funding for London with the Mayor and the Greater London Authority.

Non-domestic Rates: Greater London

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of raising the business rate thresholds for small firms located in London.

Mr Marcus Jones: From April 2017 the Government increased the threshold for small business rate relief from £6,000 to £12,000. As a result over 600,000 small businesses pay no rates at all. The threshold for the standard business rates multiplier has also increased to £51,000, taking 275,000 smaller properties out of the higher rate.The Government launched a further package of support for businesses following the revaluation, including over £120 million of support for businesses in London.

Licensed Premises: Non-domestic Rates

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reviewing the system for assessing the level of business rates levied on public houses and hotels; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: Business rates are based on valuations from the Valuation Office Agency and we are not involved in their independent assessments. At the Autumn Budget the Chancellor announced we are extending for a further year the £1,000 business rates discount for eligible pubs with a rateable value of under £100,000.

Homelessness: Liverpool City Region

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when the proportion of the £28m announced in Autumn Budget 2017 for housing first pilot scheme and allocated to the Liverpool City Region will be released to City Region leaders.

Alok Sharma: At Autumn Budget 2017 £28 million of funding was announced to pilot the Housing First approach for the country’s most entrenched rough sleepers. The pilots will cover the West Midlands Combined Authority, Greater Manchester, and the Liverpool City Region.The exact allocation to the areas will be subject to on-going work with the regions and refinement of the scope of the pilots. My Department is in regular contact with officials in the Liverpool City Region and will continue to work closely with them going forward.

Housing: Immigrants

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what account his Department takes of the Government's policy on immigration in its planning for future housing needs.

Alok Sharma: We recently consulted on standardising our approach to calculating local housing need. This calculation takes into account household projections.These projections represent the most comprehensive, evidence based, understanding of future household formation, and accounts for a forecast fall in net migration.

Housing: Construction

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department analyses up-to-date population projections when formulating future housing plans.

Alok Sharma: Formulating future housing plans are the responsibility of local planning authorities through Local Plans, not my Department. We would always advocate using the latest information available to ensure they are evidence based.In September 2017 we launched a consultation on a new standardised approach to the assessment of local housing need, which takes projections of future household growth in each area as the starting point.These should be based on the latest Office for National Statistics population projections. Further information is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/planning-for-the-right-homes-in-the-right-places-consultation-proposals.

Green Belt

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government has any plans to widen the duty to cooperate to include a requirement for councils to consider together the long-term strategic function of the Green Belt and not proceed only on a site by site basis.

Alok Sharma: Many areas of Green Belt cross local authority boundaries, and the creation or alteration of Green Belt has always been a strategic matter on which all local authorities involved liaise and work together. The National Planning Policy Framework clearly expects local authorities to ensure that Green Belt is consistent with the Local Plans of adjoining areas, and that Green Belt land continues to fulfil the purposes of Green Belt.In the Housing White Paper, Fixing our broken housing market, we proposed that a local authority should be able to adjust a Green Belt boundary only when it can show that it has examined all other reasonable options for meeting identified development needs. These options are:making effective use of suitable brownfield sites and the opportunities offered by estate regenerationthe potential offered by land which is currently underused, including surplus public sector land where appropriateoptimising the proposed density of developmentexploring whether other authorities can help to meet some of the identified development requirementMy Department has been analysing the consultation responses on this proposed clarification, and will announce our conclusions as soon as possible in 2018, when we will also issue a revised National Planning Policy Framework.

Local Plans: Coventry

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the criteria is for his Department's approval the local plan for Coventry City Council.

Alok Sharma: Where possible I want to allow local councils to take these important decisions without interference from central Government.My Department is not responsible for approving Local Plans. Local Plans are examined by an independent inspector for soundness, who assesses whether they are well prepared, justified, effective, legally compliant and consistent with national policy. Once found sound, it is the council's responsibility to decide whether to adopt the plan.I understand that Coventry’s Local Plan was found sound on 13 October 2017, and that the City Council decided to adopt it on 5 December 2017.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make funding available towards the costs levied on leaseholders who are required to remove cladding on grounds of safety as a consequence of the Grenfell Tower disaster; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: I refer the Hon Member to my answer today to Question UIN 114728.

Aviation

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the General Aviation Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of how current planning guidance supports the Government's vision of the UK being the best place in the world for General Aviation.

Alok Sharma: The National Planning Policy Framework expects local planning authorities, when preparing their Local Plans, to take account of the role of airfields in meeting business, leisure, training and emergency service needs.The planning practice guidance supporting the Framework was strengthened in March 2015, following publication of the General Aviation Strategy, to make clear that aviation makes a significant contribution to economic growth across the country, including in relation to small and medium sized airports and airfields.The guidance advises that local planning authorities should consider the interconnectivity between airfields of different sizes and that they should have regard to the Aviation Policy Framework.

Forests: Conservation

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to strengthen protection for ancient woodland in the National Planning Policy Framework; and what recent discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on that matter.

Alok Sharma: The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear that planning permission should be refused for development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats, including ancient woodland unless the need for and benefits of the development clearly outweigh the loss. This is a high bar, but we acknowledged in the Housing White Paper that further protections could be added. We are currently working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Her Majesty's Treasury to consider the findings of the Housing White Paper consultation and will be publishing a revised draft NPPF for consultation early in 2018.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has has with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea about meeting the cost of survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire not having to pay rent until June 2019.

Alok Sharma: My Department is supporting the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) to rehouse the survivors of the fire at Grenfell Tower. We will continue to support RBKC, including its initiative to provide a rent-free period for Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk survivors.My officials continue to meet regularly with the RBKC about rehousing, including the rent-free period for Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk survivors.

Right to Buy Scheme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been allocated to the pilot on right-to-buy for housing associations to date; and how much has been committed in funding for that right-to-buy for each year from 2018-19 to 2022-23 inclusive.

Alok Sharma: In the Autumn Budget the Government announced a £200 million voluntary Right to Buy regional pilot in the Midlands, allocating £50 million of funding for 2018/19 and a further £150 million for 2019/20. This will give thousands more housing association tenants the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of home ownership.

Floods: Finance

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to allow applications for grants from the 2015 Communities and Business Recovery Scheme, for people effected by flooding.

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of funding that was (a) allocated and (b) paid out under the Communities and Business Recovery Scheme to people affected by flooding in 2015-16.

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has plans to allocate funding from the public purse for an assistance scheme to support people affected by flooding events.

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support his Department has provided to people affected by recent flooding events.

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has plans to allocate additional funding from the public purse for the development of an assistance scheme to support people affected by recent flooding events.

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support his Department has provided to people affected by recent flooding events.

Jake Berry: The Government provided communities and business grants, business rate relief and council tax discount recovery payments to help support the recovery of local areas in the face of the impacts of unprecedented rainfall as a result of Storm Desmond and Eva in 2015, but this was an exceptional case.The Government has so far awarded £45.848 million of Communities and Business Recovery Scheme funding to local authorities affected by flooding as a result of Storms Desmond and Eva. To date, those authorities have awarded grants totalling £56,270,271 to eligible households and businesses. The Government will reimburse the difference in due course.For events of the scale as seen recently, local areas are expected to provide support form within their own resources. The Government therefore has no plans to activate a wider cross government recovery programme.

Mobile Homes: Fees and Charges

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent representations has he received on the (a) 100% maximum resale charge and (b) rate at which pitch fees can increase under the Mobile Homes Act 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: I have not received any representations on a 100 per cent maximum resale charge.I published a Call for Evidence on 28 November 2017 seeking views on the mobile homes legislation and the appropriate index to be used when carrying out a pitch fee review. A copy of the Call for Evidence published is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-park-homes-legislation-call-for-evidence-part-2.

Housing: Construction

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the protection afforded to buyers by New Homes Warranties; if he will take steps to increase the level of protection afforded by those warranties; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: Warranties play an important role in providing protection for new home buyers. At present it is for warranty providers to determine the levels of protection which they provide through their warranties.We are aware that existing mechanisms of redress in the housing sector can be confusing and disjointed. To address this we will in 2018 be examining options to improve redress for home buyers and will be consulting with consumers and the industry on introducing a single ombudsman.

Local Government: Reorganisation

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Statement of 7 November 2017, HCWS 232, on local government improvement, what criteria the Government has set by which it will decide whether the necessary local consent has been secured; if he will publish those criteria; and if he will make a statement.

Jake Berry: I refer my Hon Friend to the answer given by my Hon Friend, the Minister for Local Government, on 28 February 2017, to Question UIN 65271.

HM Treasury

Employment

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Hartz Reforms on employment in Germany, what support his Department provides to people in marginal employment in the UK.

Elizabeth Truss: A key purpose of the Hartz reforms was to increase flexibility in the German labour market and reduce tax pressures on low-paid and temporary workers. It helped Germany stop a long-term increase in unemployment. The UK unemployment rate currently stands at 4.3%, a 42 year low. The UK ranks very well internationally on labour market flexibility. It is a key strength of our economy and has played an important role in achieving the near record employment levels that we currently enjoy. We also exempt many low-paid jobs from income tax. This government has increased the personal allowance, and as a result, 1.2m individuals will be taken out of income tax altogether by 2018-19 compared to 2015-16. We are also introducing Universal Credit, a long overdue and necessary reform. It responds dynamically to changes in income and ensures that it always pays to work more.

Children: Day Care

David Linden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the problems with the Childcare Service helpline have been resolved.

Elizabeth Truss: The childcare service helpline is run by National Savings and Investments (NS&I) who are HMRC’s delivery partner for the service. They have recently increased the staff working on the helpline. HMRC are working with NS&I to deliver training and support to the childcare service helpline to improve the quality of service.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Layla Moran: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations his Department received ahead of the autumn Budget 2017 on compensation for Equitable Life investors.

Stephen Barclay: Up to £1.5bn has already been allocated to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Whilst several representations were received for further funding, there are no plans to reopen the Payment Scheme or to allocate further funds to it.

Treasury: Brexit

Jon Trickett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to the House of Lords European Union Committee on 31 October, how many civil servants his Department (a) has recruited and (b) expects to recruit to work on leaving the EU.

Seema Malhotra: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer,  what estimate he has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by his Department and (b) his Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Andrew Jones: A significant proportion of the Treasury’s work is in some way related to exiting the European Union and this fluctuates over time as it interacts with Treasury’s other priorities. Many staff will work both on EU Exit and other priorities so it is not possible to accurately estimate the number of Treasury officials who will be engaged on EU Exit work at any one time.

Environment Protection: Taxation

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if it is his Department's policy that the total carbon price should remain at present levels until 2025.

Andrew Jones: As announced in Autumn Budget 2017, the government is confident that the Total Carbon Price, currently made up of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the Carbon Price Support, is set at the right level and will continue to target a similar carbon price until unabated coal is no longer used.

Environment Protection: Taxation

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the sum of the total carbon price is that will remain in place until 2025

Andrew Jones: The government will target a Total Carbon Price similar to current levels until unabated coal is no longer used in power generation. The Carbon Price Support rates have been legislated for up to April 2020, and indicative rates have been set until April 2021.

Environment Protection: Taxation

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what components make up the sum of the total carbon price that will remain in place until 2025.

Andrew Jones: The Total Carbon Price is currently made up of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme price and the Carbon Price Support. Membership of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme after EU Exit is subject to negotiation with the EU.

Environment Protection: Taxation

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 4.51 of the Red Book, what his Department’s definition is for new low-carbon electricity levies.

Andrew Jones: For the purpose of the new Control, new low carbon electricity levies are defined as anything beyond our existing low carbon electricity levy contracts and commitments. Existing contracts and commitments include Contracts for Difference, the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariffs, as well as the commitment to up to £557 million for further Contracts for Difference. The government will continue to support low carbon electricity as it becomes more cost competitive. Further information on paragraph 4.51 can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/control-for-low-carbon-levies

Environment Protection: Taxation

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department had with Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in advance of the Autumn Budget 2017, on the effect of his plans to introduce no new low-carbon electricity levies until 2025, set out in paragraph 4.51 of the Red Book.

Andrew Jones: Treasury officials work closely with BEIS officials on energy policy. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of departmental discussions are not normally disclosed. This announcement provides visibility about future low carbon electricity levies for consumers and industry, as well as confirmation of up to £557 million for further Contracts for Difference support for low carbon electricity. Further information on paragraph 4.51 can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/control-for-low-carbon-levies

Employee Ownership

James Duddridge: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of potential merits of reducing the five-year holding period for Share Incentive Plans to three-years.

Mel Stride: Share Incentive Plans were introduced to encourage employee share ownership and are designed to provide companies with flexibility to meet their business needs. The scheme is also designed to incentivise staff retention. The Government continues to keep employee share scheme policy under review.

Non-domestic Rates: Valuation

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what training Valuation Office staff receive on assessing business rates.

Mel Stride: All Valuation Office Agency (VOA) staff are entitled to take five days of learning and development each year and have learning and development considered as part of performance discussions with their managers. Each team prepares individual and team learning plans, to meet their development needs. All professional staff have to complete the required continuing professional development each year. All property valuations for business rates are undertaken by staff with specialist training. Some cases will be dealt with by qualified chartered surveyors and others by trained caseworkers. The VOA has a comprehensive control and assurance system in place to ensure that quality of valuations is of an appropriate level.

Non-domestic Rates: Valuation

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many appeals were made to the Valuation Office on business rate revaluation in (a) 2010 and (b) 2017 to date.

Mel Stride: On 7 December the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) released statistics on the numbers of Challenges and Changes raised against the 2010 and 2017 Rating Lists. The VOA publishes these figures on a quarterly basis. The publication is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-rating-challenges-and-changes-2017-and-2010-rating-lists-september-2017-experimental

Loans: Republic of Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, will the outstanding loan monies still owed by the Government of the Irish Republic to the UK Goverment be affected in any way by Parliament's decision to conclude the UK's exit from the EU by March 2019.

Stephen Barclay: The UK Government expects repayment of the £3,226,960,000 bilateral loan to Ireland on time and in full, according to the schedule set out in the most recent statutory report which the Treasury provided to Parliament as required by Section 2 of the Loans to Ireland Act 2010. The last report was laid in Parliament on 7 November 2017 and is available in the Printed Paper Office. There is no direct connection between these terms and the decision to the leave the EU. Table 2.A of the report provides the details of each of the loan disbursements made to Ireland by the Treasury, and the dates on which each tranche is due to be repaid. Table 2.ADisbursement DateLoan amountLoan Maturity Date14 October 2011£403,370,00015 April 201930 January 2012£403,370,00030 July 201928 March 2012£403,370,00030 September 20191 August 2012£403,370,0003 February 202019 October 2012£403,370,00020 April 20206 March 2013£403,370,0007 September 20206 June 2013£403,370,0007 December 202026 September 2013£403,370,00026 March 2021

Tax Evasion

Alex Sobel: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to tackle corporate tax evasion following the publication of the Panama Papers.

Mel Stride: The government has taken significant action to tackle avoidance, evasion, and non-compliance; including securing almost £160 billion of additional tax revenue since 2010, introducing over 100 measures, and investing around £2 billion extra in HMRC. At Budget, the government took further steps to tackle these issues, which are forecast to raise £4.8 billion between now and 2022-23 for our vital public services. These efforts have helped the UK tax gap fall to 6.0% - its lowest level ever, and one of the lowest in the world. The UK will continue to engage with our international partners to achieve a consistent and targeted approach for tackling tax avoidance and evasion.

Personal Savings: Interest Rates

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representation he has received on the new rules and guidance regarding interest rates on savings accounts that were issued by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Stephen Barclay: I refer the honourable member to the answer that I gave on 30 November to PQ UIN 115394.

Valuation Office Agency: Closures

Clive Lewis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the Valuation Office Agency offices that are being considered for closure under the office closure programme.

Clive Lewis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff are employed at each office of the Valuation Office Agency.

Clive Lewis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of staff at the Valuation Office Agency are within the scope of the redundancy programme.

Mel Stride: Information on Valuation Office Agency (VOA) office closures and staff currently employed at each office will be placed in the Library of the House in due course. The VOA's estates programme intends to transform the way it uses its offices to support new and more efficient ways of working. It balances affordability and geographic coverage. By April 2023, the VOA expects to work out of 26 locations. By consolidating into a smaller number of higher-quality buildings, the VOA will be able to support its staff in adapting to a more flexible way of working, delivering services to its customers in a more cost-effective and sustainable way. Larger offices will offer VOA staff a wider range of roles and career paths within a single location. The estates programme is not a redundancy programme. As the VOA reduces its office space, it will take every practical step to avoid compulsory job losses as a result of any future location changes. The VOA will seek, where possible, to retain staff and their skills. Where it is not possible for staff to continue to work for the VOA, it will support them in seeking alternative employment in the civil service or elsewhere.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2017, to Question 116033, for what reason the information on the number of disabled children eligible for Tax-Free Childcare is not available.

Tracy Brabin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2017 to Question 115078, how many of the live tax-free childcare accounts for disabled children have had a payment made from the account.

Elizabeth Truss: The data available does not enable us to make an estimate of eligible disabled children to an acceptable level of precision. The information requested on the number of Tax-Free Childcare accounts for disabled children who have made a payment from the account is not available at the current time.

Cabinet Office

Public Sector: Employment

David Simpson: To ask the Minister of the Cabinet Office what the total number of Northern Irish workers currently employed by the public sector across the rest of the UK is.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response
(PDF Document, 193.64 KB)

Heart Diseases: Death

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people aged under 40 die of undiagnosed heart conditions each week in England.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response
(PDF Document, 65.73 KB)

Cabinet Office: Brexit

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to the House of Lords European Union Committee on 31 October, how many civil servants his Department (a) has recruited and (b) expects to recruit to work on leaving the EU.

Caroline Nokes: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Tottenham on 24th October 2017, Official Report, C.106568.

Drugs: Death

Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many drug-related deaths there have been by age group in each of the last twelve months.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response
(PDF Document, 181.75 KB)

General Election 2017

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to undertake a comprehensive investigation of intimidation of candidates and canvassers during the 2017 General Election.

Chris Skidmore: At the request of the Prime Minister, the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) is currently carrying out a review of the intimidation of Parliamentary candidates, including those who stood at the 2017 General Election. The Committee will be publishing its report ‘Intimidation in Public Life: A Review by the Committee on Standards in Public Life’ on Wednesday 13 December. The Government will consider the report and its recommendations carefully.

Cabinet Office: Brexit

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by his Department and (b) his Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Caroline Nokes: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Tottenham on 24th October 2017, Official Report, C.106568.

Electronic Government

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many new Government websites have been approved through the Government's spending controls process in the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: 42 new websites were approved through the Governments spending controls process between 5th April 2013 - 19th July 2017. 14 new sub-websites (as part of existing website) were approved between 31st July 2013 - 14th August 2017.

Electronic Government

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many applications have been (a) received and (b) approved by the Naming and Approvals Committee in the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: The number of applications received by the Naming and Approvals Committee from 30 October 2012 - 1 November 2017 is 918. Of these, 663 were approved.

Mortality Rates

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the mortality rates of (a) communicable disease,  (b) non-communicable disease and (c) injuries in each year for which figures are available.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response
(PDF Document, 75.7 KB)

Diarrhoea: Mortality Rates

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the mortality rate for diarrheal diseases has been in each region of England in each year for which data is available.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response
(PDF Document, 85.49 KB)

Electoral Register

Alex Norris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to reduce the proportion of eligible voters who are not on the electoral register.

Chris Skidmore: We are committed to building on the successful introduction of online registration - now used by more than 30 million citizens - to ensure that everyone eligible to take part in our democracy can do so. Before Christmas, we will publish our democratic engagement plan, setting out evidence on levels of electoral registration across the country and our intended steps for maximising registration.

Electoral Register

Alex Norris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what evidence base his Department uses to assess what gaps exist in the electoral register.

Chris Skidmore: There is a wide-ranging evidence base on electoral registration. This includes the completeness and accuracy studies conducted by the Electoral Commission as well as academic and other research. I have also collected a large amount of evidence from the meetings and roundtable discussions I have held over recent months as part of my Every Voice Matters tour. Our forthcoming democratic engagement plan, to be published later in December 2017, will set out some of the evidence we have gathered as well as our plans for future action.

Electoral Register

Alex Norris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of implementing an automatic voter registration system.

Chris Skidmore: The Government does not support a policy of automatic voter registration and has made no assessment of the costs of implementation of any such system.

Brain Cancer: Diagnosis

Toby Perkins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many cases of Acoustic Neuroma have been diagnosed in each Clinical Commissioning Group in each year since 2010.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response
(PDF Document, 68.05 KB)

Local Government: Elections

Chris Green: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will work with local authorities to ensure that none of the voter ID pilots taking place in May 2018 accept only a passport or driving license as valid identification.

Chris Skidmore: The voter ID pilot schemes are part of a comprehensive programme of reform that will enhance public confidence in our elections, and strengthen electoral integrity. It has always been Cabinet Office’s view that voter ID pilots will not disenfranchise any legitimate voter and that piloting voter ID with local authorities is the best way to ensure successful implementation nationally. Local authorities best understand the needs of their electors and each pilot has reflected its preference for the form and combination of ID. No-one will need to purchase identification documents to be able to vote in the pilots scheduled for May 2018 and the valid identification will not be limited to a passport or driving licence. The pilot local authorities and the Electoral Commission continue to work closely with the Cabinet Office to ensure that this is possible and that every eligible voice can be heard. We want to ensure the system is safe and secure. It is not acceptable that anyone should be disenfranchised from the process.

Fraud: Databases

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, from which (a) public and (b) private sector bodies will data be processed as part of the National Fraud Initiative.

Caroline Nokes: The National Fraud Initiative (NFI) operates on a two year cycle. The current cycle (NFI 2016/17) commenced in July 2016 and will run into 2018. As part of that cycle the Cabinet Office anticipates between 1200 - 1300 organisations will supply data for the NFI. The table below shows the organisations, by type, from across the UK that have submitted data, and received matches, for the NFI 162016/17 cycle to date.Organisation TypeNumber of organisations who have submitted data and received matchesPublic/PrivateNHS502PublicLocal Government422PublicCentral Government117PublicPolice body45PublicFire and Rescue authority40PublicPension Scheme27Private & PublicHousing Association21PrivateHigher Education10PublicPassenger transport executive/ Integrated transport authority9PublicOther4Private & PublicWaste regulation or disposal authority2PublicTotal1199

House of Lords Composition

Martyn Day: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the changes to the level of funding from the public purse of the recommendations of report of the Lord Speaker’s Committee on the size of the House of Lords, published on 31 October 2017.

Chris Skidmore: At this point the Government has not made an assessment of the financial implications of the recommendations in the Lord Speaker's committee report. Those proposals are due to be discussed for the first time by the House of Lords on 19 December. The Government will listen closely to what is said in that debate on the range of recommendations before considering its own position on those recommendations.

Children: Death

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the greatest cause of death for (a) male and (b) female children aged between 0 and 5 was in each region in each year since 2008.  .

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response
(PDF Document, 66.58 KB)

Government Departments: Twitter

Anna Turley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether direct messages (a) sent from and (b) received by government Twitter accounts will be transferred to the National Archives as official records.

Chris Skidmore: The National Archives currently captures government Twitter accounts. This does not include direct messages.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many countries have informed his Department that they would like to have trade deals with the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Greg Hands: The UK has met with a wide range of countries to discuss various aspects of our trading relationship. Whilst we are still members of the EU, the UK cannot negotiate and conclude free trade agreements.The Department for International Trade is currently engaging with all countries with which the EU has trade agreements, to discuss continuity of current trading arrangements as the UK leaves the EU. The Department has also announced a number of working groups with whom there is no EU deal in place, including the US, China, Australia, Japan and New Zealand.

Turkey: Military Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the agenda was for the discussion for the 3rd TF-X fighter aircraft programme at the steering committee meeting held in London between his Department and the Government of Turkey.

Mark Garnier: The Department for International Trade’s Defence & Security Organisation and the Ministry of Defence recently held a Turkey-UK, TF-X Programme G2G Steering Committee meeting with Turkish officials to discuss how the Turkish and UK Government and industry could work closely together to progress the TF-X project.Due to the commercially sensitive nature of these discussions, we are unable to release the agenda.

Department for International Trade: Brexit

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by his Department and (b) his Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Greg Hands: Leaving the European Union is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. The Department for International Trade was established to secure UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment and championing free trade. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give a specific figure.

Small Businesses: Loans

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2017 to Question 115425 on small businesses, what the (a) rate of default was on loans provided by UK export finance during the period to which that answer refers and (b) cost to the UK Exchequer of such defaults.

Mark Garnier: Holding answer received on 06 December 2017



UK Export Finance (UKEF) has provided £14 billion of support for UK exports in the last five financial years to March 2017. UKEF operates at no net cost to the taxpayer and seeks to recover the full amount of any claims paid. UKEF also charges a premium to reflect the risk it assumes. In that time, claims paid by UKEF on this support totalled £8.6m, which represents 0.06% of the support issued.

Exports

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2017 to Question 115414, what steps he plans to take to increase growth in exports of goods and services beyond the level forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Garnier: The Department for International Trade is pursuing a number of initiatives aimed at boosting UK goods and services exports. It already has a network of 177 posts across 108 countries both inside and outside the EU, and provides firms with practical and financial assistance to help them succeed when exporting or expanding globally.Additionally, on 1 December the Government announced its Export Strategy Review, to consider how the UK can encourage and support British businesses to take advantage of the huge potential to grow exports.The UK is also promoting the services of UK Export Finance (UKEF), including having launched a new product recently to help SMEs have access to financial support for their supply chains.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Mobile Phones: Fees and Charges

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with BT on charges to landline customers who phone mobile numbers.

Matt Hancock: Ministers and officials hold regular discussions with BT on a range of issues including charges. The charges that BT makes to consumers for calling mobile telephones arise because BT has to pay the mobile company for the call. This is called the termination rate. Under Ofcom regulations, mobile termination rates have been capped by reference to a single flat rate since May 2015.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Brexit

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to the House of Lords European Union Committee on 31 October, how many civil servants her Department (a) has recruited and (b) expects to recruit to work on leaving the EU.

Matt Hancock: The whole of Government is preparing for the UK to make an orderly and successful exit from the European union. Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. Staff within the DCMS EU Team lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analyses on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department's other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Mass Media: Internet

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what meetings her Department has had with (a) Facebook and (b) Twitter on (i) fake news and (ii) methods of removing fake news before it becomes viral.

Matt Hancock: Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with social media companies on a range of issues including cyber bullying. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website. We are looking at the prevalence of fake news and the role that platforms play in the news environment, as part of our digital charter.

Voluntary Work: Sports

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what her Department's policy is on DBS checks for volunteers in sporting activities.

Tracey Crouch: Anyone involved in sport in a role that involves regular contact with or responsibility for children or vulnerable adults should have appropriate background checks. Organisations in receipt of public funding from Sport England and UK Sport since April 2017 are required to meet the standards set out in the Code for Sports Governance. The Code contains specific obligations about safeguarding, including a requirement to adhere to the Standards for Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport, which are issued by the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit. These standards state that sport organisations must have policies and procedures in place to safely recruit staff and volunteers who work with children and for assessing their suitability for such roles. DBS checks are one tool that can be used. Safeguarding checks required by legislation and guidance must also be carried out.

Offences Against Children: Sports

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she has taken to tackle child abuse in sport.

Tracey Crouch: The Government is completely committed to doing all it can to ensure people can participate in sport in safe and secure environments. I wrote to all sports funded through Sport England, the arm’s length body responsible for community sport in England, in November 2016 asking them to ensure their safeguarding processes were as robust as possible. The Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for DCMS also jointly chaired a meeting in December 2016 with a number of national governing bodies and other key sports organisations, Sport England, the police and the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit to consider how safeguarding in sport can be as robust as possible. We plan to reconvene this group in the New Year to discuss the progress made since the original meeting.  Since April 2017, organisations in receipt of public funding from Sport England and UK Sport are required to meet the standards set out in the Code for Sports Governance. The Code contains specific obligations about safeguarding, including a requirement for national governing bodies to adhere to the Standards for Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport, which are issued by the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit. Sport England have also ensured that all new award agreements have the relevant terms in place to ensure good child protection policies and procedures are used by the applicants. In addition, every organisation that received a grant from Sport England in the last five years has been reminded of its obligations on child protection and the relevant provisions in its funding contract. The Government is currently considering the recommendations made by Baroness Grey-Thompson’s Duty of Care review, which included a specific chapter on safeguarding. Proposals are being developed to extend the definition of a ‘position of trust’ in the Sexual Offences Act to include sports coaches. The details of this work will be announced in due course.

British Parachute Association

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what representations she has received about the adequacy of the safeguarding policy of the British Parachute Association.

Tracey Crouch: My department has not received any representations about the adequacy of the safeguarding policy of the British Parachute Association. The British Parachute Association is not in receipt of any funding from Sport England or UK Sport, and therefore are not required to comply with the Code for Sports Governance which requires all funded sports organisations to adhere to the Standards for Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport issued by the NSPCC’s Child Protection in Sport Unit. All organisations that provide sport, culture and leisure services should have appropriate arrangements for the safeguarding of children, as stated in the government’s statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children. Sport England encourages all sports to adopt the safeguarding standards set out in the Standards for Safeguarding and Protecting Children in Sport.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Legatum Institute

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what meetings Ministers of her Department have had with representatives of the Legatum Institute in the last 12 months.

Matt Hancock: Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on gov.uk.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Brexit

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much time her Department spent in compiling impact assessments and other material for the sectoral analyses it provided to the Department for Exiting the European Union; how many FTE staff hours were dedicated to that compilation; and on what date her Department started and concluded its work on that compilation.

Matt Hancock: The Government has collated over 800 pages of analysis for the committees. As we have said before, the “58 impact assessments” do not exist in the form Parliament requested. We have taken time to bring together information in a way that meets Parliament’s specific ask. With regards to how many FTE staff hours were dedicated to the compilation, we do not hold this information in the form requested. The Department for Exiting the European Union has satisfied the motion passed in the House of Commons by bringing together information for these reports. The Committee on Exiting the EU voted on Wednesday 6 December that the Government’s response to the resolution of the House of 1 November has complied with the terms of that resolution.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Brexit

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by her Department and (b) her Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Matt Hancock: The whole of Government is preparing for the UK to make an orderly and successful exit from the European union. Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. Staff within the DCMS EU Team lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analyses on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department's other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Brexit

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent estimate she has made of the additional funding required by her Department over the next two years to prepare effectively for the UK leaving the EU.

Matt Hancock: As announced at Autumn Budget 2017, HMT is making £3 billion of additional funding available over the next two years - £1.5 billion in both 18/19 and 19/20 – so that departments and the Devolved Administrations can continue to prepare effectively for Brexit. We are currently working with HMT and DExEU to establish what we need to prepare effectively, and what additional funding should be supplied – HM Treasury will aim to agree 2018/19 allocations in early 2018. Funding requirements for 19/20 will be affected by progress in negotiations with the EU and will therefore be decided at a later date. Additional funding received from the Reserve will be set out at Supplementary Estimates in the usual way.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Travel

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the transparency document entitled DCMS: Ministerial travel, 1st April to 30th June 2017, which tickets relating to which journeys were (a) first, (b) business, (c) economy and (d) any other class; and what the cost of each such ticket was.

Matt Hancock: Ministers travel economy or standard class for all UK travel. For international travel, Ministers travel economy or standard class for European destinations, Ministers may travel business class for travelling from the UK to destinations outside Europe.

Libraries Taskforce

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason his Department has not published the full dataset from the Libraries Taskforce.

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish the complete dataset from the Libraries Taskforce.

John Glen: The Department expects to publish the full dataset previously collected by the Libraries Taskforce in due course.

Broadband: Essex

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to provide funding for the (a) latest broadband technologies and (b) 5G technologies to support (i) businesses and (ii) households in Essex.

Matt Hancock: We have invested heavily in Essex with over £13 million of central government funding allocated to support superfast rollout; local bodies and European funds have also matched this with over £13 million to the project. On the ground, delivery is managed on a day-to-day basis by Superfast Essex (http://www.superfastessex.org/) our local delivery partner. Superfast coverage in Essex has risen from under 35% in 2010 to over 91%, with current delivery continuing until March 2020 and a further procurement underway. At Autumn Budget 2017, the Government launched a £190 million Local Full Fibre Networks challenge fund to stimulate commercial investment in full fibre networks. Local bodies in Essex are able to bid for funding in the current round until 26th January 2018. We also announced £160 million at Budget for the next phase of funding for the 5G Testbeds & Trials Programme, including projects to test 5G applications and deployment on roads and the security of 5G networks. In October 2017, the Government launched a £25 million competition to select a number of 5G projects to be funded in 2018-19. We believe that we will see the best outcome for the UK if we fund the strongest projects wherever they are. The Government is engaging widely with industry, academic institutions and local areas to encourage them to submit ambitious proposals.

Sports: Children

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the provision of organised sport for children outside schools.

Tracey Crouch: We are committed to ensuring that all children and young people, particularly those who are currently least active or from under-represented groups, have the best opportunities to engage in sport and physical activity. We are continuing to invest over £17 million annually in the School Games to ensure that children of all abilities are able to access high quality organised sport. Sport England is planning to invest £28m into Satellite Clubs between 2017-2021 to provide children and young people with opportunities to take part in sport outside of curriculum time. And through its new Families Fund, Sport England will be investing up to £40m into projects, which offer new opportunities for families with children to get active and play sport together. Sport England will also invest up to £3 million of National Lottery money through its new Potentials Fund which will support projects for young people (from ages 10 to 20) involved in social action and volunteering using sport and physical activity. This campaign is match-funded by the #iwill fund.

Department of Health

Doctors and Nurses: English Language

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the pass mark for the International English Language Test for doctors and nurses was last reviewed; and when he next plans to review the pass mark.

Mr Philip Dunne: Language testing of doctors and nurses, where this is deemed necessary to evidence language competency, is a matter for the General Medical Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council respectively as part of their registration or fitness to practise processes. Government policy on language controls is aimed at ensuring that only health and care professionals who have a sufficient knowledge of the English language are able to work in the United Kingdom, in the interests of patient safety and public protection.

NHS Trusts: Subsidiary Companies

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Health of 14 November 2017, Official Report, column 129, on NHS Trusts: subsidiary companies, if he will list the 39 subsidiary companies which have been set up by NHS Foundation Trusts.

Mr Philip Dunne: Information on the number and names of subsidiary companies set up by National Health Service trusts is not collected centrally. NHS Improvement asks NHS foundation trusts to inform them how many subsidiaries have been consolidated into their accounts. Therefore, there may be cases where a very immaterial subsidiary is not consolidated into their accounts, and as such would not be included on the list below. The information below is based on the most recent returns as at 31 March 2017. The list stands at 41 as it includes two subsidiaries which the trust reported as having a zero impact on the financials. 1Hampshire Hospitals Contract Services Limited2Summerhill Supplies Ltd3IFM Bolton Ltd4BHT Charity5The Clatterbridge Pharmacy Limited6Clatterbridge Propcare Services Limited7Synchronicity Care Ltd8D Hive9Dudley Clinical Services Limited10QEF11Guy's and St Thomas' Enterprises Ltd12GTI Forces Healthcare Ltd13Pathology Services Ltd14Essentia Trading Ltd15KCH Commercial Services Ltd16King's Interventional Facilities Management LLP17Moorfields Ventures LLP18WebV Solutions Ltd19Optimus Health Limited20Northumbria Healthcare Facilities Ltd21Northumbria Primary Care Limited22Northumbria Primary Care Cost Sharing Group Ltd23Oxleas Prison Services Limited24Healthcare Facilities25RSCH Pharmacy Ltd26Salisbury Trading Limited27Odstock Medical Limited28South Central Fleet Services Ltd29UHS Pharmacy LTD30UHS Estates LTD31SDH Developments Ltd32STFT Holdings Limited33South Tyneside Integrated Care Limited34Stepping Hill Healthcare Enterprises Ltd35City Hospitals Independent Commercial Enterprises Ltd36MyUCLH37Pharmacy@QEHB Ltd38UHB Facilities Ltd39Assure Dialysis Services Ltd40Day Case UK LLP41Symphony Healthcare Services Ltd

Surgical Mesh Implants

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials have held with (i) NICE and (ii) NHS England about issuing guidelines on the use of vaginal mesh operations.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Departmental officials have had a number of discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about the development of guidance on vaginal meshes. NICE has published seven out of eight pieces of Interventional Procedure guidelines; with the final piece due to be published in 15 December 2017. The NICE Clinical Guidance on urinary incontinence is due to be published in 2019, with a consultation on the draft guidance planned for 2018. Ministers and officials have met with NHS England on a number of occasions to discuss the recommendations that were set out in the NHS England Mesh Oversight Group final report that was published in July 2017. The recommendations included an e-learning resource for general practitioners and the production of information leaflets outlining the benefit and risks of all treatment options available for both patients and clinicians.

Patients: Transport

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether (a) NHS England and (b) his Department plan to update guidance on the delivery of non-emergency patient transport.

Steve Brine: The provision of appropriate National Health Service transport services is a matter for local NHS commissioners. There are no plans to review patient transport guidance.

Care Homes

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to provide nursing placements in community nursing homes as a means of expanding training placement availability.

Mr Philip Dunne: We anticipate that community nurse placements will be a part of the increase in the number of available clinical placements for undergraduate nurse degrees announced by my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 3 October 2017.Health Education England’s (HEE) Community Education Providers Networks bring together all involved with education and training in primary care within a specified geography to work across health and social care, delivering and coordinating educational training and so helping to attract, recruit and retain staff in the region and develop a sustainable workforce.HEE has also developed Advanced Training Practice hubs which are accredited to provide undergraduate and post-graduate multi-professional training placements that offer opportunities for learners to develop the competencies needed to work effectively in primary and community care settings. Education and training provision for healthcare systems in the National Health Service in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is a matter for each of the devolved administrations.

Nurses: Training

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to reduce attrition rates for students on nursing degree courses.

Mr Philip Dunne: In support of reducing attrition of nurses in training, Health Education England has established the Reducing Pre-Registration Attrition and Improving Retention project, to work with universities to reduce unnecessary attrition and identify areas of best practice in improving retention on health training courses. The project focuses on the four fields of nursing, midwifery and therapeutic radiography and aims to increase the supply of nurses and allied health professionals by supporting HEIs and NHS service provider organisations to work collaboratively to reduce attrition and improve retention. This project is scheduled to report in the spring of 2018. Education and training provision for healthcare systems in the National Health Service in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is a matter for each of the devolved administrations.

Health Services: Homelessness

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that homeless people can access NHS services.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is committed to ensuring that homeless people can access health services. From April 2018 we will be implementing an ambitious legislative reform, the Homelessness Reduction Act, which received Royal Assent earlier this year. The Act will mean more people getting the help they need earlier, to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place. The Department is currently considering how best to implement in the healthcare sector the ‘duty to refer’ to housing services that was introduced by this Act. The homeless healthcare charity, Pathway, has led and developed best practice for health services to help people who are homeless. The Government has supported this project through the Homeless Hospital Discharge Fund. This has supported 52 voluntary sector-led projects to improve discharge arrangements for homeless people, and was positively evaluated by Homeless Link, the national membership charity for organisations working directly with people who become homeless in England. Public Health England provides a resource, `Homes for Health’, that provides a single point of access for policymakers, commissioners and others to wide-ranging authoritative information on data, evaluation, evidence and research relating to homelessness, including people with multiple complex needs. It contains good practice prompts for commissioning for homeless people with drug or alcohol problems. Homeless people are encouraged to sign up to a general practitioner (GP) service so they can get the treatment they need. Without an address, a GP can accept them by using the GP practice’s own address or an address of a hostel, where appropriate. Training is also available for receptionists and guidance for GPs to help them deliver essential frontline care to the homeless, thus creating a more joined-up workforce.

NHS: Temporary Employment

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the funding allocated to the NHS has been spent on agency staff in each of the last 7 years.

Mr Philip Dunne: Total figures for agency expenditure are available for National Health Service secondary care in England for each year from 2013-14 to 2016-17 but not before. We do not hold figures for agency expenditure in primary care. The following table shows NHS secondary care agency expenditure figures: YearNHS England mandate (£ billion)Total NHS secondary care expenditure on agency staff in England (£ billion)Agency spend as % of mandate2013-1494.7312.5892.732014-1597.3423.1893.282015-16100.5003.6323.612016-17105.9622.9352.77 A number of measures have been introduced by the Secretary of State to bring secondary care agency spending under control including price caps, procurement frameworks and expenditure ceilings. These have contributed to the NHS spending around £700 million less on agency in 2016/17 than in the previous financial year.

Health Services: Standards

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on encouraging clinical commissioning groups to require providers to complete the Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) self-assessment tool and apply for accreditation with UKAS and achieve accreditation within the duration of their contract.

Steve Brine: NHS England does not collect information about the progress made on encouraging clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to require providers to complete the Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) self-assessment tool and apply for accreditation with United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and achieve accreditation within the duration of their contract. However, Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss – a Framework for CCGs, published in July 2016, strongly encourages CCGs to expect providers to have completed the IQIPS self-assessment tool and applied for accreditation with UKAS, and achieve accreditation within the duration of their contract. This is reflected in the model service specification for adults.

General Practitioners

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of  (a) young and (b) older people who are not registered with a GP.

Steve Brine: The Department does not collect data and has made no estimates on the number of people who are not registered at a general practitioner practice.

Patients: Transport

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many officials of his Department have core responsibilities which include non-emergency patient transport?

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data the Department of Health collects from Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS hospital trusts on non-emergency patient transport.

Steve Brine: The Department does not have a separate team in which members are working solely full-time on non-emergency patient transport. Officials from across the Department work flexibly and may have a role in these areas alongside contributions from officials in NHS England and NHS Improvement in relation to this work. Non-emergency patient transport performance data is not collected centrally, and there are currently no plans to collect such data.

Out-patients: Attendance

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to collect data recording the reasons why NHS patients miss their appointments.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS England has confirmed that there are currently no plans to collect data recording the reasons why National Health Service patients miss their appointments.

Department of Health: Brexit

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to the House of Lords European Union Committee on 31 October, how many civil servants his Department (a) has recruited and (b) expects to recruit to work on leaving the EU.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by his Department and (b) his Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Mr Philip Dunne: Leaving the European Union is an all-of-Government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. Staff within the Global and Public Health Directorate of this Department lead on providing advice to Ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. Members of staff across the Department also provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and the Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure.

NHS: Drugs

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure value for money on pharmaceutical procurement.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the NHS is not charged a premium price for pharmaceutical products, especially Liothyronine by (a) Concordia, (b) Morningside and (c) Teva.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that liothyronine will remain available on the NHS.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure liothyronine is competitively priced and provides value for money.

Steve Brine: For unbranded generics the Government relies on completion to keep prices down which generally works well and has led to low prices of these medicines. We alert the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) when we believe that competition does not work. In the case of liothyronine, the CMA is currently investigating Concordia’s potential abuse of its dominant position to overcharge the National Health Service for liothyronine. In primary care community pharmacies are incentivised to source products at the lowest possible cost by allowing them to retain the medicines margin (the difference between what the NHS reimburses a pharmacy for a product and how much the pharmacy purchases it for) up to £800 million in England. In secondary care, competitive tenders ensure value-for-money to the NHS.

Thyroid Gland: Diseases

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what medicines NHS England has approved for patients with thyroid conditions

Steve Brine: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 07 December 2017.The correct answer should have been:

For unbranded generics the Government relies on completion to keep prices down which generally works well and has led to low prices of these medicines. We alert the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) when we believe that competition does not work. In the case of liothyronine, the CMA is currently investigating Concordia’s potential abuse of its dominant position to overcharge the National Health Service for liothyronine. In primary care community pharmacies are incentivised to source products at the lowest possible cost by allowing them to retain the medicines margin (the difference between what the NHS reimburses a pharmacy for a product and how much the pharmacy purchases it for) up to £800 million in England. In secondary care, competitive tenders ensure value-for-money to the NHS. NHS England is not responsible for approving medicines. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether medicines and other treatments represent a clinically and cost effective use of NHS resources. A list of medicines licensed by the MHRA for the treatment of thyroid conditions is attached. The list is split into two sections because thyroid conditions can be split into either those associated with an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), or an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism). The list contains only those medicines licensed for overactive and underactive thyroid. It should be noted that not all of the medicines listed will be available on the market at any one time. 



List of thyroid medicines
(Excel SpreadSheet, 43.5 KB)

Steve Brine: For unbranded generics the Government relies on completion to keep prices down which generally works well and has led to low prices of these medicines. We alert the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) when we believe that competition does not work. In the case of liothyronine, the CMA is currently investigating Concordia’s potential abuse of its dominant position to overcharge the National Health Service for liothyronine. In primary care community pharmacies are incentivised to source products at the lowest possible cost by allowing them to retain the medicines margin (the difference between what the NHS reimburses a pharmacy for a product and how much the pharmacy purchases it for) up to £800 million in England. In secondary care, competitive tenders ensure value-for-money to the NHS. NHS England is not responsible for approving medicines. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether medicines and other treatments represent a clinically and cost effective use of NHS resources. A list of medicines licensed by the MHRA for the treatment of thyroid conditions is attached. The list is split into two sections because thyroid conditions can be split into either those associated with an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), or an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism). The list contains only those medicines licensed for overactive and underactive thyroid. It should be noted that not all of the medicines listed will be available on the market at any one time. 



List of thyroid medicines
(Excel SpreadSheet, 43.5 KB)

Fibromyalgia

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to classify fibromyalgia as a long-term condition.

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department provides to healthcare professionals for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to raise awareness of fibromyalgia among (a) healthcare professionals and (b) members of the public.

Steve Brine: A long-term health condition (LTC) can be defined as a condition that cannot be cured but can be managed through the use of medication and/or therapy, and by that definition fibromyalgia is an LTC. Diagnosing fibromyalgia can be difficult as there is no specific diagnostic test that can be used, and the symptoms can vary from person to person. Diagnosis is usually made by taking a medical history, checking symptoms and carrying out a physical examination. Blood tests, x-rays and other scans may be used to rule out medical conditions with similar symptoms to fibromyalgia. The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) curriculum includes training in musculoskeletal conditions, and as such, general practitioner (GP) training can include fibromyalgia. A key component of a trainee GP’s final assessment, alongside the Clinical Skills Assessment and Workplace Based Assessment, is the applied knowledge test (AKT). The AKT is a summative assessment of the knowledge base that underpins independent general practice in the United Kingdom within the context of the National Health Service. The content guide for the RCGP, which serves to prepare trainees for the test, includes a specific reference to a required knowledge of fibromyalgia. The AKT content guide can be found at the following link:www.rcgp.org.uk/training-exams/mrcgp-exams-overview/~/media/D96EB4E0188E4355BCC9221B55859B08.ashxA range of support exists to help GPs identify the signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia in primary care. This includes the Map of Medicine, an online evidence-based guide and clinical decision support tool for clinicians which has a fibromyalgia and chronic pain pathway to support diagnosis and referral, an e-learning course developed by the Royal College of GPs and Arthritis Research UK on musculoskeletal care, including fibromyalgia, and a medical guide developed by the Fibromyalgia Association UK (FMUK) for health professionals. Information for the public can be found on the NHS Choices website and is also available in a patients information guide produced by FMUK. The medical guide, patient information booklet and NHS choice webpage on fibromyalgia can be found at the following links: www.fmauk.org/dmdocuments/Medical%20Pack.pdfwww.fmauk.org/information-packs-mainmenu-58/booklet-mainmenu-135/490-patient-bookletwww.nhs.uk/conditions/fibromyalgia/

Fibromyalgia: Research

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support research into fibromyalgia.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including fibromyalgia; it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. NIHR support for fibromyalgia research over the last five years includes £1.8 million funding for research projects; £0.6 million funding for clinical trials through the NIHR Clinical Research Network; and the NIHR has managed infrastructure supporting fibromyalgia research. Information on individual projects funded by the NIHR can be found at:https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/

Department of Health: Legatum Institute

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, meetings Ministers of his Department have had with representatives of the Legatum Institute in the last 12 months.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Department adheres to transparent Government guidelines and publishes quarterly returns on Ministerial meetings with external organisations. The most recent data, for 2017, is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-external-meetings-2017

Opiates: Misuse

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to tackle opioid abuse?

Steve Brine: The Government takes seriously the issue of the misuse of opioid substances. In July we published a comprehensive new drug strategy setting out a balanced approach to tackling drug abuse, including opioid abuse, which brings together police, health, community and global partners to tackle the illicit drugs trade, protect the most vulnerable and help those with drug dependency to recover and turn their lives around. The Department leads on the Building Recovery strand and co-leads, with the Home Office, on the Reducing Demand strand of the cross-Government Drug Strategy. The strategy can be accessed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-strategy-2017We are committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug problem can access the help and support they need to overcome it. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug treatment services to meet the needs of their population and they are supported in this by Public Health England through the provision of data, guidance and targeted support.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Medical Treatments

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the timetable is for NICE to begin its evaluation of the spinal muscular atrophy treatment Spinraza.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been asked to develop technology appraisal guidance on the use of nusinersen (Spinraza) to treat spinal muscular atrophy and this topic has been scheduled into NICE’s work programme. The appraisal process is anticipated to begin in January 2018 and the deadline for an evidence submission is anticipated to be March 2018. Although no further details about timescales for the development of guidance are available at this stage, NICE take approximately nine months to develop guidance on a new drug depending on the individual product.

Continuing Care: Merseyside

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with (a) Southport and Formby CCG and (b) South Sefton CCG on (i) a moratorium on and (ii) funding for retrospective reviews of continuing healthcare; when funding will be available for retrospective claims and reviews in those CCG areas; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Secretary of State has not had discussions with Southport and Formby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) or South Sefton CCG about ‘retrospective reviews’ of NHS Continuing Healthcare, otherwise known as ‘previously unassessed periods of care’. Individuals, their families, or a representative are currently able to request an assessment from their responsible CCG for an NHS Continuing Healthcare ‘previously unassessed period of care’ for periods from 1 April 2012 onwards. In March 2012, deadlines were introduced for requests for an assessment for NHS Continuing Healthcare ‘previously unassessed periods of care’ between 1 April 2004 and 31 March 2012. The deadline for registering for a review of unassessed periods of care during this time period was 31 March 2013.

Scarlet Fever

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the recent rise in scarlet fever cases across England.

Steve Brine: Public Health England has undertaken detailed analysis of scarlet fever notifications in England and Wales, collected as part of the statutory notifications of infectious diseases, to understand the possible cause of the rise in scarlet fever cases. Assessment of strains collected from scarlet fever patients across England as part of this investigation ruled out the emergence of a new strain as the cause of this rise. Longitudinal assessment of notifications since 1911 identified periodic surges in disease but all of relatively smaller magnitude to that seen during this current resurgence. The assessment is available at:http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(17)30693-X/fulltext?elsca1=tlprThe data collected has shown that cases reported during the rise are similar to previous cases in terms of seasonal pattern of occurrence, demographic characteristics, and frequency of hospitalisation.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report by Action for ME,  Spotlight on specialist services: UK healthcare for people with ME, published in July 2017, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of collecting data on the prevalence of ME for each Clinical Commissioning Group area.

Steve Brine: No assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence reports that the annual estimated prevalence is at least 0.2–0.4% (around 190,000) in the United Kingdom. Population prevalence estimates, along with data on services usage and other local intelligence can support commissioners to deliver high quality services for the populations they serve.

Leukaemia: Children

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the provision of treatment for people diagnosed with Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia.

Steve Brine: The usual treatment for juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia is a stem cell transplant, the only type of treatment that can currently cure the disease. Unfortunately, this type of treatment is only suitable for some children. Currently NHS England commissions stem cell transplants from 12 providers across England. Doctors and scientists are trying to improve the treatment of this condition through both National Health Service funded and charitable means, however at this time it remains difficult to cure.

Giant Cell Arteritis

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision of treatment for people diagnosed with Giant Cell Arteritis.

Steve Brine: Patients with Giant Cell Arteritis are covered by Specialised Rheumatology services which are organised into networks of care which include considering access to specialised drug therapies. The details of the NHS England service specification for Specialised Rheumatology which can be found on our website at:https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-a/a09/

Drugs: Misuse

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of  drug use disorders on Disability-Adjusted Life Years lost in each region of England for each year for which data is available.

Steve Brine: There has been no formal assessment of disability adjusted life years lost through drug use disorders broken down by regional level. An assessment of years of life lost through drug use disorders is available in the publication Changes in health in England, with analysis by English regions and areas of deprivation, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. It assesses the scale of health lost from diseases and injuries in 2013, and estimates the attributable impact of risk factors; data for drug use disorders is included. This report does not include a regional assessment of Disability Adjusted Life Years. It was published on 15 September and is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/burden-of-disease-study-for-englandThis analysis was conceived and produced jointly by Public Health England and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the availability of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for people with HIV in areas of high HIV prevalence after the places on the PrEP impact trial are fully subscribed.

Steve Brine: The planning assumptions that underpin the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) IMPACT trial will offer a reasonable opportunity to participate to those assessed as meeting the eligibility criteria for the trial and willing to take PrEP. The availability of PrEP is in the context of a clinical trial with 10,000 participants which has been designed to answer important research questions to inform future commissioning and rollout plans. There will be opportunities as the trial progresses to consider re-allocating places between sites should it prove necessary to meet demand. Further information can be found on the PrEP IMPACT trial website at:www.prepimpacttrial.org.uk

Clinical Commissioning Groups: Procurement

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions Care Commissioning Groups have paid a (a) financial settlement or (b) court award to an independent sector provider as a result of procurement and commissioning decisions, and if he will publish the Care Commissioning Groups and companies in each case.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost of litigation has been to Care Commissioning Groups regarding  procurement and commissioning decisions in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: NHS England has advised that under the terms of settlements agreed that parties are entitled to disclose only that an agreed resolution on the litigation has been reached and that these figures are confidential between the settling parties.

Virgin Care

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been paid by (a) each of the six Surrey Care Commissioning Groups, (b) Surrey County Council, and (c) NHS England, to Virgin Care as a result of litigation relating to the procurement of children’s services in Surrey.

Steve Brine: The subject matter of the litigation was resolved by a settlement agreement reached at mediation. Under the terms of the settlement agreed the parties are entitled to disclose only that an agreed resolution on the litigation concerning the Surrey children’s procurement has been reached to a satisfactory conclusion for all parties with detailed terms confidential to the parties.

Virgin Care

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the reasons were for not publishing the details of the settlement between Virgin Care and Surrey Care Commissioning Group relating to the procurement of children’s services in Surrey.

Steve Brine: As part of the mediation and legal proceedings it was agreed that the operative terms of the settlement agreement which concluded the litigation concerning the Surrey children’s procurement be and remain confidential to the parties. It is very important, for reasons of public policy, that communications between parties to a mediation, and between those parties and the mediator, remain private and confidential.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding NHS England has allocated to the Children and young people’s mental health commissioning development programme, and what the objectives are of that programme.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS England allocated £650,000 to fund its Children and Young People’s Mental Health Commissioner Development Programme to deliver the ambitions set out in Future in Mind. The year-long learning programme will conclude in December 2017 and involves 115 commissioners enrolled from the health, public health, children’s services and youth justice system. The programme objectives are to develop commissioner skills, knowledge and confidence to deliver the whole system transformation described in Future in Mind. The tailored training includes co-production with service users and their families; partnership working across different sectors and routine use of data and outcome measurement.

Health Services: Children and Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of children and young people’s services in England have a crisis intervention team.

Jackie Doyle-Price: This information is not available in the format requested.

Self-harm: Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2017 to Question 116271, in what format is data collected on the number of children admitted to Accident and Emergency departments for self-harm.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Data is collected by NHS Digital on the number of unplanned accident and emergency (A&E) attendances for 0-17 years old within the A&E patient group category of deliberate self-harm.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people work full-time in the children and young people's mental health improvement team.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Future in Mind set out an ambitious agenda for whole system change which can only be achieved through a collaborative approach both locally and nationally across a range of settings including health, children’s services, and youth justice. The Children and Young People’s (CYP) Mental Health Improvement Team is a small team in NHS England that has embedded expertise in these areas. They provide leadership, advice and support such as sharing best-practice, learning and solutions to common challenges to a range of organisations and individuals including clinical networks, commissioners, providers and CYP Improving Access to Psychological Therapies collaboratives across the system to support delivery. It consists of 3.5 full time equivalent staff working in the central NHS England Children and Young People’s Mental Health Programme Team.

Lung Diseases: Drugs

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) metered-dose and (b) dry powder inhalers were prescribed in England in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: The number of metered dose and dry powder inhalers prescribed in England in each of the last financial years can be found in the table below: Time PeriodMetered Dose Inhalers Total Number of ItemsMetered Dose Inhalers Total Number of InhalersDry Powder Inhalers Total Number of ItemsDry Powder Inhalers Total Number of Inhalers1Financial 2012/1316,865,01122,200,9786,232,79177,106,658Financial 2013/1433,285,25043,706,23213,050,690163,352,892Financial 2014/1534,896,94445,485,66613,796,383170,303,819Financial 2015/1634,999,25245,253,62514,120,657169,800,742Financial 2016/1735,821,12245,780,84414,456,394168,747,3352Financial 2017/1817,456,20522,171,2647,181,68583,215,366Total173,323,784224,598,60968,838,600832,526,812 Notes: 1Financial 2012/13 covers time period October 2012 to March 2013 2Financial 2017/18 covers time period April 2017 to September 2017 This information has been provided by the NHS Business Services Authority.

Lung Diseases: Drugs

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has undertaken a cost-benefit analysis of encouraging the prescription of more dry powder inhalers; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: The Department has not undertaken a cost-benefit analysis. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has made assessments on the health effectiveness of inhalers, which are used to treat a number of health conditions and have published a number of resources to assist clinicians in treating those conditions. The Department is not leading on policies related to fluorinated greenhouse gases. We, however, will continue to provide advice to Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs on any potential health impact in relation to their policies.

Genetics: Screening

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the Government will consult on extending the moratorium that allows people not to declare the results of genetic tests to insurers after 1 November 2019; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is working with the Association of British Insurers to renew the existing Concordat and Moratorium. We will be seeking the views of an established group of stakeholders with a view to publication in early 2018 ahead of the end date of the Concordat and Moratorium in November 2019.

Women and Equalities

LGBT People: Bullying

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the level of bullying reported against LGBT+ people.

Nick Gibb: Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying is unacceptable and the Government is committed to tackling it. There is no single source of data on the level of bullying reported against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people. We rely on a range of sources to gather insight on bullying, harassment and discrimination against LGBT people in different contexts. These include our regular omnibus survey of pupils and their parents, research from the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, which the Government Equalities Office commissioned in 2016 to review the evidence of inequalities faced by LGBT people, and evidence from LGBT organisations. In July this year we launched a national online survey to gain the views of LGBT people living in the UK on what they think of public services. There are questions about the workplace as well as health, education, safety, and more general questions about being an LGBT person in the UK. The survey received an unprecedented response, making it one of the largest LGBT surveys in the world. We will analyse those results closely and set out further steps to promote LGBT equality next year.

Government Equalities Office: Brexit

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what estimate she has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by her Department and (b) her Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Exit is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to understand the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and to coordinate planning. A team within the Government Equalities Office (GEO) leads on providing advice to ministers on EU Exit and exit-related issues. Members of GEO staff provide advice and analysis on EU Exit issues across a range of policy areas affecting women and equalities, as required. Given the interactions between EU exit work and GEO’s other priorities, it is not possible to give an accurate figure specifically for work on EU exit.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Matt Western: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to begin her review of the Equality and Human Rights Commission; and whether the scope of that review will include staffing levels and the implications of recent redundancies.

Nick Gibb: The Department expects to start its review of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) during the first half of 2018 as part of the standard “tailored review” programme for public bodies. The EHRC’s resources, and its range of functions and responsibilities, will be among the issues which the review will cover.